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President  IleberJ.<irant  in  Japan  in  1901 
Speeial  feature:  The  Church  in  Asia,  see  page  14 


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I 


BRIGHAM  YOUNG  UNIVERSITY 

Provo,  Utah  84601 


The  Voice  of  the  Church  •  March  1970  •  Volume  73,  Number  3 


Special  Features 

2  Editor's  Page:  To  Know  for  Ourselves,  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith 

4  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  Albert  L  Zobell,  Jr. 

9  President  Harold  B.  Lee 

11  President  N.  Eldon  Tanner 

13  President  Spencer  W.  Kimball 

14  The  Future  of  the  Church  in  Asia,  Elder  Ezra  Taft  Benson 

15  The  Mission  Presidents  in  Asia  Report 

23  The  History  of  the  Church  in  Japan,  Eleanor  Knowles 

27  The  Influence  of  Latter-day  Saint  Servicemen  in  Asia,  W.  Brent  Hardy 

29  A  Photographic  Review  of  the  Church  in  Asia 

32  The  Beginnings  in  Thailand,  Craig  G.  Christensen 

35  The  Early  Missions  to  Burma  and  Siam,  Dr.  R.  Lanier  Britsch 

84       A  New  Look  at  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price:  Part  10,  The  Sacrifice  of 
Isaac,  Dr.  Hugh  Nibley 

Regular  Features 

60  Genealogy:  Genealogical  Research  in  Asia,  John  W.  Orton 

65  Buffs  and  Rebuffs 

66  Today's  Family:  Gardens  Are  Such  Friendly  People,  Florence  Bittner 
70  Research  &  Review:  A  Study  of  the  Text  of  the  Inspired  Revision  of 

the  Bible,  Dr.  Truman  G.  Madsen 

72        LDS  Scene 

78       Presiding  Bishop's  Page:  The  Presiding  Bishop  Talks  to  Youth  About 
Goals,  Bishop  John  H.  Vandenberg 

80       These   Times:   Who   Should   Be   Educated   for  What?    Dr.    G.    Homer 
Durham 

95       End  of  an  Era 
38,  63,  65,  76 

The  Spoken  Word,  Richard  L  Evans 

46-59  EraOl  Youth  Marion  D.  Hanks  and  Elaine  Cannon,  Editors 


75, 90  Poetry 


Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  Richard  L.  Evans,  Editors;  Doyle  L,  Green,  Managing  Editor;  Jay  M.  Todd,  Assistant  Managing  Editor;  Eleanor 
Knowles,  Copy  Editor;  Mabel  Jones  Gabbott,  Manuscript  Editor;  Albert  L.  Zobell,  Jr.,  Research  Editor;  William  T,  Sykes,  Editorial 
Associate;  G.  Homer  Durham,  Hugh  Nibley,  Albert  L.  Payne,  Truman  G.  Madsen,  Elliott  Landau,  Leonard  Arrington,  Contributing 
Editors;  Marion  D.  Hanks,  Era  of  Youth  Editor;  Elaine  Cannon,  Era  of  Youth  Associate  Editor;  Ralph  Reynolds,  Art  Director;  Norman 
Price,  Staff  Artist. 

W.  Jay  Eldredge,  General  Manager;  Florence  S.  Jacobsen,  Associate  General  Manager;  Verl  F.  Scott,  Business  Manager;  A.  Glen 
Snarr,   Circulation    Manager;   S.   Glenn   Smith,    Advertising    Representative. 

©General  Superintendent,  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improvement  Association  of  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints,  1970; 
published  by  the  Mutual   Improvement  Associations.     All   rights  reserved. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah,  as  second  class  matter.  Acceptance  for  mailing  at  special  rate  of  postage  provided 
for  in  section  1103,  Act  of  October  1917,  authorized  July  2,  1918. 

Subscription  price  $3.00  a  year,  in  advance;  multiple  subscriptions,  2  years,  $5.75;  3  years,  $8.25;  each  succeeding  year,  $2.50 
added  to  the  three-year  price;  35c  single  copy  except  special  issues.  Thirty  days'  notice  required  for  change  of  address.  When 
ordering  a  change,  please  include  your  address  label  from  a  recent  issue  of  the  magazine;  address  changes  cannot  be  made  unless 
the  old  address,  as  well  as  the  new  one,  is  included. 

The  Improvement  Era  welcomes  contributions  but  is  not  responsible  for  unsolicited  manuscripts.  Manuscripts  must  be  accom- 
panied by  sufficient  postage  for  delivery  and  return.     Payment  is  made  upon  acceptance. 

Advertising:  The  Era  is  pleased  to  carry  advertisements  of  interest  to  readers,  but  doing  so  does  not  imply  Church  endorsement 
of  the  advertiser  or  his  product. 

Official  organ  of  the  Priesthood  Quorums,  Mutual  Improvement  Associations,  Home  Teaching  Committee,  Music 
Committee,    Church    School    System,    and   other   agencies  of  The  Church   of  Jesus  Christ  of   Latter-day   Saints. 

The  Improvement  Era, 79  South  State, Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  84111 


On  the  Cover: 

On  February  14,  1901,  the  First  Pres- 
idency announced  that  a  new  mission 
was  to  be  created  in  Japan  and  that 
Elder  Heber  J.  Grant  of  the  Council  of 
the  Twelve  had  been  appointed  as  the 
mission  president.  Some  six  months 
later,  45-year-old  Heber  J.  Grant 
stepped  into  the  almost  mysterious 
world  of  the  Orient.  It  was  an  experi- 
ence that  he  was  never  to  forget.  Before 
he  left  for  Japan,  a  farewell  gathering  in 
his  honor  was  held  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
at  which  President  Joseph  F.  Smith 
spoke:  ".  .  .  we  are  pleased  to  think 
that  to  you  has  been  entrusted  the  great 
labor  of  opening  the  door  ...  to  one  of 
the  foremost  nations  of  the  earth  today. 
They  are  the  children  of  God,  and  have 
souls  to  save;  they  are  bright  and  in- 
genious .  .  .  [Heber  J.  Grant's]  name 
will  go  down  to  all  time  in  honor  and 
blessing,  and  hundreds,  yea  thousands 
and  perhaps  millions,  will  receive  the 
gospel  as  a  result  of  his  labors  in  the 
beginning.  .  .  ." 

Since  those  early  days  almost  seven 
decades  ago,  the  door  to  Asia  has  not 
always  been  open  nor  friendly,  but  in 
the  words  of  those  charged  with  the 
responsibility  at  present,  "in  the  time- 
table of  the  Lord  it  is  the  time  for  Asia." 
This  month  our  cover  features  a  paint- 
ing by  Dale  Kilbourn  of  President  Grant 
in  Japan  in  1901. 

Also  on  the  cover  are  several  photo- 
graphs of  contemporary  Japanese  Lat- 
ter-day Saints  participating  in  Church 
activities.  The  photographs  are  courtesy 
of  the  Church  Information  Service.  Arti- 
cles on  the  Church  in  Asia  begin  on 
page  14. 


Elder  Heber  J.  Grant  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve,  at  the  time  the  Japanese  Mission 
was  opened,  in  1901. 


The  Editors  F&ge 


To  Know  for  Ourselves 


By  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith 

•  The  Improvement  Era  has  been  a  part  of  my  life 
for  a  long  time,  and  this  is  especially  so  because  of  the 
influence  of  my  father.  In  1897,  my  father,  Joseph  F. 
Smith,  who  was  then  second  counselor  in  the  First 
Presidency  to  President  Wilford  Woodruff,  joined 
with  Elder  Heber  J.  Grant  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 
in  the  formation  of  The  Improvement  Era  (both  men 
had  the  added  responsibility  of  being  assistant  general 
superintendents  in  the  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improve- 
ment Association).  Father  and  President  Brigham  H. 
Roberts  of  the  First  Council  of  the  Seventy,  another 
assistant  YMMIA  superintendent,  were  the  first  editors, 
and  Brother  Grant  was  the  business  manager,  with 
Thomas  Hull  as  his  assistant.  These  brethren  spent 
many,  many  hours,  nights  as  well  as  days,  praying  and 
working  together  for  the  success  of  the  Era. 

Joseph  F.  Smith  wrote  many  things  for  it,  some  of 
which  he  signed  and  some  that  he  did  not.  His  signed 
pieces  most  often  appeared  in  what  was  called  "The 
Editor's  Table,"  near  the  back  of  the  magazine  each 
month.  He  was  also  the  magazine's  senior  editor  while 
he  was  second  counselor  to  President  Lorenzo  Snow 
after  the  death  of  President  Woodruff.  When  President 
Snow  died,  Father,  as  President  of  the  Twelve,  became 
President  of  the  Church.  At  that  time  it  was  decided 
that  the  President  of  the  Church  should  be  the  senior 
editor  of  the  Era. 


I  remember  with  fondness  the  early  days  of  my 
association  with  the  magazine,  for  which  I  wrote 
articles  about  Church  history.  For  volume  eight  ( 1904- 
1905)  I  wrote  articles  called  "Events  of  the  Month," 
which  was  the  "Church  Moves  On"  of  that  day.  But 
the  column  was  more  than  it  is  today.  In  those  days 
there  was  no  late  evening  news  on  radio  or  television. 
We  knew  that  the  Era  was  the  only  contact  that  many 
of  our  subscribers  had  with  the  world.  Therefore,  each 
"Events  of  the  Month"  had  three  sections— local, 
domestic,  and  foreign.  The  first  section  had,  in  addi- 
tion to  news  of  the  growth  of  the  Church,  notices  of 
the  deaths  of  some  of  the  Saints.  The  local  section 
also  had  notices  of  the  opening  of  schools.  The  domes- 
tic and  foreign  sections  reported  on  current  events  on 
the  national  and  international  scene  and  were  usually 
non-Church  in  nature. 

As  President  of  the  Church,  Joseph  F.  Smith  con- 
tinued to  write  for  the  Era,  and  his  writings  were  much 
read  and  still  are  quoted.  In  1918,  at  his  passing, 
President  Heber  J.  Grant  became  President  of  the 
Church  and  senior  editor  of  the  Era.  During  his  ad- 
ministration his  contributions  were  moved  to  the  front 
of  the  magazine  and  became  known  as  "The  Editor's 
Page."  That  page  was  used  by  President  George  Albert 
Smith  and  President  David  O.  McKay  during  their 
administrations. 


Now  I  am  happy  to  be  senior  editor  of  the  Era  and 
to  use  this  page  to  discuss  with  you,  month  by  month, 
subjects  pertinent  to  the  restored  gospel. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  subject  of  testimony,  some- 
thing that  all  members  of  the  Church  should  have. 
Nourish  your  testimony  and  make  it  grow,  every  day 
of  your  life.  You  know  that  there  is  no  reason  in  the 
world  why  any  soul  should  not  know  where  to  find 
the  truth.  If  he  will  only  humble  himself  and  seek  in 
the  spirit  of  humility  and  faith,  going  to  the  Lord  just 
as  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  went  to  him  to  find  the 
truth,  he  will  find  it.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it.  If 
men  and  women  will  only  hearken  to  the  whisperings 
of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  seek  as  he  would  have 
them  seek  for  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  there  is  no  reason  in  the  world 
for  them  not  to  find  it— no  reason,  that  is,  except  the 
hardness  of  their  hearts  and  their  love  of  the  world. 
"Knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  (Matt.  7:7.) 

The  first  things  a  person  must  have  in  order  to 
qualify  as  an  officer  or  a  teacher  in  this  Church  are 
a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the  gospel  and  a 
testimony  of  the  mission  of  the  Redeemer  and  of  the 
mission  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith. 

There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  the  Lord  raised 
the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith  up  and  gave  him  revelation, 
commandment,  opened  the  heavens  to  him,  and  called 


upon  him  to  stand  at  the  head  of  this  glorious  dispen- 
sation. I  am  perfectly  satisfied  in  my  mind  that  in  his 
youth,  when  he  went  out  to  pray,  he  beheld  and  stood 
in  the  actual  presence  of  God  the  Father  and  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ;  in  my  mind  there  is  no  doubt— I  know 
this  to  be  true.  I  know  that  he  later  received  visitations 
from  Moroni,  the  Aaronic  Priesthood  under  the  hands 
of  John  the  Baptist,  the  Melchizedek  Priesthood  under 
the  hands  of  Peter,  James,  and  John,  and  that  The 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  was 
organized  on  the  sixth  day  of  April  1830,  by  divine 
command. 

I  know  that  the  power  of  the  Almighty  is  guiding 
this  people,  that  we  are  under  covenant  to  keep  his 
commandments,  to  walk  in  light  and  truth.  It  is  my 
firm  conviction  that  every  member  of  this  Church 
should  be  able  to  bear  witness  and  declare  by  words 
of  soberness  that  these  things  are  true,  that  the  Book  of 
Mormon  is  true,  that  the  destiny  of  this  latter-day 
work  is  true,  and  that,  according  to  the  revelations,  it 
must  and  will  be  fulfilled. 

And  every  soul  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  who  has  a 
desire  to  know  it  has  the  privilege  of  knowing  for 
himself,  for  every  soul  that  will  humble  himself,  and 
in  the  depths  of  humility  and  faith,  with'  a  contrite 
spirit,  go  before  the  Lord,  will  receive  that  knowledge 
just  as  surely  as  he  lives.  O 


Era,   March    1970    3 


fTcsiUQiti  tioscpn  ricitiing  &1111111 


By  Albert  L.  Zobell,  Jr. 
Research  Editor 


"Come,  listen  to  a  prophet's  voice, 

And  hear  the  word  of  God, 

And  in  the  way  of  truth  rejoice, 

And  sing  for  joy  aloud. 

We've  found  the  way  the  prophets  went 

Who  lived  in  days  of  yore; 

Another  prophet  now  is  sent 

This  knowledge  to  restore." 

—Hymns,  No.  46 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints  has 
a  new  Prophet  and  President.  Yet,  in  reality  he  is  an 
old  friend:  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith  has  been 
with  the  Saints  in  times  of  sorrow  as  well  as  rejoicing 
for  almost  a  century. 

This  observation  is  intended  not  only  by  way  of 
introduction  to  the  new  President,  but  also  by  way 
of  recalling  high  points  of  his  lifetime  of  service  in 
the  building  up  of  the  Church  and  kingdom  of  God 
on  earth,  climaxed  on  January  23,  1970,  when  the 
Council  of  the  Twelve  met  prayerfully  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Temple  and  named  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith 
as  the  tenth  President  of  the  Church.  At  this  historic 
meeting,  after  the  members  of  the  Twelve  had  sung 
"Guide  Us,  O  Thou  Great  Jehovah,"  each  of  them,  in 
turn,  bore  his  testimony.  Before  the  five-hour  meeting 
was  over,  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith  had  been 
confirmed  President  of  .the  Church  and  set  apart  by  the 
Twelve,  with  Harold  B.  Lee  as  voice.  The  new  Presi- 
dent then  selected  Elder  Lee  as  his  first  counselor  and 
Elder  Nathan  Eldon  Tanner  as  his  second  counselor, 
and  with  the  Twelve  he  set  them  apart.  President  Lee, 
who  will  also  now  serve  as  president  of  the  Twelve, 
was  voice  as  Elder  Spencer  W.  Kimball  was  set  apart 
as  acting  president  of  that  body. 

And  thus  was  called  to  head  the  Church  a  man  who 


had  been  schooled  and  prepared  in  nearly  all  areas 
of  Church  service  since  his  early  youth. 

Joseph  Fielding  Smith's  ancestors  include  the  early 
American  patriots  of  New  England,  and  in  his  veins 
courses  the  blood  of  one  of  the  martyrs  who  died  as  a 
witness  to  the  restoration  of  the  gospel.  His  great- 
grandfather, Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  father  of  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith,  was  the  first  Patriarch  of  the  Church. 
At  his  death,  his  son,  Hyrum  Smith  (Joseph  Fielding 
Smith's  grandfather),  became  Patriarch  to  the  Church. 
He  was  martyred  only  moments  before  his  brother 
Joseph  at  Carthage,  Illinois,  the  afternoon  of  June  27, 
1844. 

President  Smith's  father  was  Joseph  F.  Smith,  sixth 
President  of  the  Church  (1901-1918),  who  as  a  boy 
of  nine  drove  an  ox  team  across  the  plains  with  his 
widowed  mother  to  their  new  home  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Valley.  Of  him  it  was  written:  "He  was  not  only  a 
great  father  and  a  mighty  preacher  of  righteousness, 
but  he  typified  our  loftiest  conception  of  a  real  man— 
a  man  whose  convictions  were  backed  by  loyalty  and 
consecrated  devotion  to  the  truth,  that  was  never 
challenged  by  friend  or  foe."1 

Through  his  mother,  Julina  Lambson  Smith,  Presi- 
dent Smith  also  descended  from  worthy  ancestors.  At 
the  feet  of  his  great  father  and  an  equally  wonderful 
and  spiritual  mother,  young  Joseph  Fielding,  who  was 
born  July  19,  1876,  gained  faith  in  and  a  love  for  the 
Lord  and  his  work.  His  foundation  in  gospel  princi- 
ples and  all  that  is  right  and  true  was  laid  early,  and 
this  foundation  broadened  mightily  with  the  passing 
of  years. 

He  learned  to  work  on  the  family  farm  in  Taylors- 
ville,  Salt  Lake  County.  An  early  memory  is  of  milking 
the  family  cow  without  permission  "before  I  was 
baptized."   Milking  was  a  task  that  had  been  given  to 


an  older  sister,  but  apparently  he  did  it  well  enough 
that  he  soon  found  himself  given  the  job. 

He  learned  early  to  work  with  animals,  with  nature, 
with  men,  and  with  God.  His  own  growing  testimony 
was  aided  by  the  faith  and  works  of  his  father,  who  had 
been  a  full-time  missionary  at  15  and  an  apostle  ten 
years  before  Joseph  Fielding  was  born,  and  who  had 
been  called  as  second  counselor  in  the  First  Presidency 
when  his  namesake  son  was  only  four  years  of  age. 

Another  of  the  family  tasks  that  fell  his  lot  was  that 
of  being  stable  boy  for  his  mother  in  her  capacity  as  a 
licensed  midwife.  At  all  hours  of  the  night  he  was 
called  from  his  deep  boyhood  sleep  to  harness  a  horse 
so  she  could  go  where  she  was  needed.  He  would 
light  a  kerosene  lantern  and  go  to  the  barn,  and  soon 
the  horse  would  be  ready. 

Reflecting  on  those  early  years,  he  has  mixed 
memories  of  Juny,  a  fine  horse  that  his  father  had 
purchased  from  President  George  Q.  Cannon  of  the 
First  Presidency: 

"She  was  so  smart  she  learned  how  to  unlock  one 
kind  of  corral  fastener  after  another  that  I  contrived, 
until  Father  said  to  me,  half  humorously,  that  Juny 
seemed  to  be  smarter  than  I  was.  So  Father  himself 
fastened  her  in  with  a  strap  and  buckle.  As  he  did  so, 
the  mare  eyed  him  coolly;  and,  as  soon  as  our  backs 
were  turned,  she  set  to  work  with  her  teeth  until  she 
actually  undid  the  buckle  and  followed  us  out,  some- 
what to  my  delight.  I  could  not  refrain  from  suggesting 
to  Father  that  I  was  not  the  only  one  whose  head 
compared  unfavorably  with  the  mare's." 

There  was  the  time  when  "Father  chastised  me  with 
three  or  four  light  touches  of  a  buggy  whip  for  a 
misdeed  I  had  not  committed.  Father  later  atoned  for 
the  misapplied  punishment  with  these  sage  and 
humorously  spoken  words,  'Oh  well,  we'll  let  that 
apply  on  some  things  you  got  by  with  when  you 
didn't  get  punished.' " 

Recently  the  author  was  privileged  to  hear  the  re- 
corded voices  of  five  former  Presidents  of  the  Church. 
He  was  awed,  as  were  others  who  listened,  at  the  simi- 
larity between  the  voices  of  Joseph  F.  Smith  and 
his  son  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  the  only  father  and  son 
who  have  been  Presidents  of  the  Church. 

As  a  young  man,  Joseph  Fielding  Smith  was  active 
in  the  organizations  of  the  Church,  including  service 
as  superintendent  of  the  16th  Ward  Sunday  School. 
When  he  became  of  age,  he  attended  the  LDS  Uni- 
versity and  worked  at  one  time  at  ZCMI  to  help  pay 
his  expenses. 

He  was  ordained  an  elder  in  1897  and  entered  the 
British  Mission  in  1899  as  a  seventy.  Returning  home 
in  June  1901,  he  obtained  employment  as  a  clerk  in 


President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  tenth  President  of  the  Church. 


President  and  Sister  Smith  at  home. 


Top:  President  Joseph  F.  and  Julina  L.  Smith,  parents  of  President 
Joseph  Fielding  Smith.  Above:  Meeting  with  Latter-day  Saint  servicemen 
in  the  Orient  in  1955.  Below:  In  1960,  President  Smith  was  made  an 
honorary  brigadier  general  in  the  Utah  National  Guard  for  a  "lifetime  of 
administering  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  mankind." 


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the  Church  Historian's  Office,  beginning  there  Octo- 
ber 4,  1901.  He  became  the  librarian  January  1, 
1904,  and  at  the  April  1906  general  conference  was 
sustained  as  an  assistant  Church  Historian,  a  position 
he  held  until  March  17,  1921,  when  he  became  Church 
Historian.  (As  he  now  leaves  the  Church  Historian's 
quarters  to  become  President  of  the  Church,  he  has 
served  in  that  office  for  almost  half  the  time  that 
the  Church  has  been  organized.) 

After  Elder  Smith's  return  from  his  mission  in  1901, 
he  served  nine  years  as  a  home  missionary  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Stake.  In  1903  he  was  set  apart  as  a  president 
of  the  24th  quorum  of  seventies,  and  the  following 
year  he  was  appointed  to  the  Salt  Lake  Stake  high 
council.  Long  active  in  the  MIA,  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  YMMIA  general  board  from  1903  to 
1919. 

President  Smith's  call  to  be  a  General  Authority 
came  at  the  April  1910  general  conference,  when,  at  the 
age  of  33,  he  was  sustained  as  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  the  Twelve.  He  was  ordained  an  apostle 
April  7,  1910,  by  his  father,  who  was  then  President 
of  the  Church. 

President  Smith  became  acting  president  of  the 
Council  of  the  Twelve  in  August  1951,  following  the 
death  of  President  George  F.  Richards.  (President 
David  O.  McKay,  who  was  then  serving  as  second 
counselor  in  the  First  Presidency,  was  president  of  the 
Twelve.)  When  President  George  Albert  Smith  died 
in  April  1951,  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  as  the  new 
president  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve,  was  voice  as 
the  Twelve  set  apart  David  O.  McKay  as  ninth  Presi- 
dent of  the  Church.  Some  14  and  a  half  years  later 
President  Smith  was  named  a  counselor  to  President 
McKay  in  the  First  Presidency. 

Elder  Richard  L.  Evans,  who  was  President  Smith's 
neighbor  for  many  years,  has  said  of  him: 

"We  see  Brother  Smith  as  the  father  and  grandfather 
and  husband  of  many  talents  and  of  much  devotion— 
as  the  father  who  attends  the  bedside  of  the  sick,  who 
performs  early  and  late,  at  all  hours,  many  kindly 
services,  who  counsels  with  his  own  and  others  on 
personal  problems,  school  problems,  social  problems, 
spiritual  problems. 

"There  are  also  those  who  know  him  as  a  confiding 
friend  and  counselor  in  his  office.  There  are  those 
who  know  him  as  a  storyteller  of  impressive  sincerity. 
(And  there  are  even  some  who  know  him  as  the  'baby 
sitter,'  which  he  has  been  for  his  children  and  his 
children's  children.)  There  are  those  who  know  the 
quickness  of  his  humor,  the  tenderness  of  his  heart,  the 
sympathy  of  his  soul. 

"He  loves  life,  and  he  has  shown  by  his  life  that 


The  family  of  President  Smith  in  the  late  1930's.  Lewis  (insert),  then  serving  a  mission,  was  later  killed  in  World  War  II. 


he  loves  truth,  that  he  loves  the  Church,  and  that  he 
loves  his  Father's  children.  And  he  is,  in  turn,  not  only 
admired  and  respected,  but  also  loved  for  his  sterling 
qualities  of  character,  and  for  himself."2 

That  neighborly  insight  continues  to  hold  true. 
President  Smith's  home  and  family  have  always  been 
uppermost  in  his  mind.  In  1898  he  married  Louie  E. 
Shurtliff.  She  died  in  March  1908,  leaving  him  with 
two  small  daughters.  Later  that  same  year  he  married 
Ethel  G.  Reynolds,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
nine  children.  But  again  death  took  his  companion 
when  she  died  in  August  1937.  On  April  12,  1938, 
Elder  Smith  married  Jessie  Evans,  whose  beautiful 
contralto  voice  had  earned  a  place  for  her  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Tabernacle  Choir  and  who  had  sung  widely  in 
operas  and  concerts. 

During  1939  Elder  Smith  filled  a  special  assignment 
for  the  Church  in  Europe.  With  Sister  Smith,  he  ar- 
rived in  England  the  first  week  in  May;  after  visits 
there,  they  left  for  the  continent  to  meet  with  Saints 
and  missionaries  in  Holland,  Belgium,  France,  Switzer- 
land, Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  and  Germany. 

But  international  affairs  were  critical  that  summer, 
and  World  War  II  broke  out  in  September  when 
Germany  invaded  Poland.  President  Smith  was  in 
Germany  at  the  time,  and  it  was  there  that  he  re- 
ceived a  cablegram  from  the  First  Presidency  directing 
him  to  supervise  the  evacuation  of  all  American 
missionaries  from  the  European  continent. 

With  the  inspiration  of  the  Lord  and  with  the  com- 
mon bond  of  brotherhood  among  the  missionaries, 
the  task  was  begun.  The  exact  whereabouts  of  many 
elders  among  the  frightened,  moving  masses  of  people 
were  unknown,  Many  missionaries  were  given  train 
fare  for  themselves  and  several  others  and  were  in- 
structed to  locate  their  fellow  missionaries.  Through- 
out the  Church  these  brothers,  many  of  whom  are  now 
bishops,  mission  presidents,  and  stake  presidents, 
testify  that  they  received  impressions  to  leave  their 


trains,  enter  the  seething  waiting  rooms  of  the  depots, 
and  whistle  a  church  hymn.  Sometimes  it  was  "Do 
What  Is  Right"  or  "Come,  Come  Ye  Saints."  Suddenly 
from  the  crowd  their  sought-for  fellow  missionary 
would  appear,  and  they  would  run  and  catch  the  de- 
parting train. 

These  missionaries  were  sent  back  to  the  United 
States  by  ship,  having  to  take  their  turns  in  the  "sub- 
marine watch."  Some  who  were  approaching  the  end 
of  their  missions  were  given  honorable  releases,  and 
others  were  reassigned  to  missions  in  the  United 
States.  President  and  Sister  Smith  returned  to  Salt 
Lake  City  in  November  1939. 

It  is  well  known  that  President  Smith  is  the  author 
of  many  books  and  pamphlets  and  is  one  of  the  great 
spokesmen  on  Church  doctrine.  Not  so  well  known 
is  the  fact  that  he  has  written  words  to  several  hymns. 
One,  "The  Best  Is  Not  Too  Good  for  Me,"  was  written 
in  his  youth  after  he  had  received  advice  from  his 
father  concerning  an  employment  opportunity.  The 
music  was  written  by  Tracy  Y.  Cannon.  The  music 
for  another,  "Come,  Come,  My  Brother,  Wake!  Awake!" 
is  by  Evan  Stephens.  George  D.  Pyper  wrote  the 
music  for  his  "Does  the  Journey  Seem  Long?"  Another, 
"We  Are  Watchmen  of  the  Tower  of  Zion,"  has  music 
by  Alexander  Schreiner. 

President  Smith  has  long  been  a  supporter  of  the 
growth  of  the  city  and  its  institutions.  This  story  is 
told  of  him:  "During  the  early  months  of  1933,  in  the 
midst  of  the  great  depression,  banks  were  failing  all 
over  the  U.S.  One  morning  a  crowd  of  good  men  who 
should  have  known  better  formed  in  the  street  to  make 
a  run  on  Zion's  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company  as 
soon  as  it  opened.  Suddenly  in  the  back  of  the  crowd 
came  a  voice  of  authority:  'Let  me  through.  I  want  to 
make  a  deposit.'  It  was  Joseph  Fielding  Smith  who  was 
waving  his  bank  book  and  a  roll  of  paper  money.  Some 
of  the  crowd  had  second  thoughts  about  the  bank  and 
went  on  their  way." 


Era,   March   1970    7 


In  his  youth  President  Smith  was  active  in  athletics, 
and  he  continues  to  maintain  an  interest  in  the  field, 
lending  strong  support  to  the  recreational  program  for 
youth  of  the  Church.  He  played  handball,  a  strenuous 
game  that  demands  alertness  of  both  mind  and 
muscle,  until  his  seventieth  birthday. 

President  Smith's  unusual  life  span  spreads  from  the 
covered  wagon  to  the  jet  plane.  In  his  early  years  as 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve  he  and  his 
assigned  companion  would  sometimes  journey  to  stake 
conferences  by  starting  out  by  train,  then  transferring 
to  a  wagon,  and  sometimes  making  even  a  third  trans- 
fer, and  perhaps  completing  their  journey  on  horse- 
back. 

This  memory  is  in  contrast  to  another  experience  of 
a  few  years  ago.  One  weekend  President  Smith  found 
himself  with  an  appointment  that  would  keep  him  in 
the  Salt  Lake  City  area  for  the  greater  part  of  Satur- 
day. However,  he  had  been  assigned  to  conduct  a 
quarterly  stake  conference  in  the  San  Francisco  area 
Saturday  evening  and  Sunday.  This  worried  President 
Smith,  who  prides  himself  on  the  way  his  appointments 
seldom,  if  ever,  are  in  conflict.  But  it  looked  as  if, 
this  time,  one  appointment  would  have  to  be  cancelled. 

He  casually  mentioned  the  problem  to  a  young  friend 
who  was  a  jet  pilot  in  the  National  Guard.  The  pilot 
replied,  "You  know,  my  crew  is  lacking  some  air  time 
this  month.  We've  got  to  fly  some  place  to  log  out 
time.  The  Bay  Area  is  just  about  the  distance  we  need 
to  keep  our  training  record  up  to  where  it  should  be 
this  month.  Let's  fly  there  late  Saturday  afternoon 
and  return  Sunday  evening." 

President  Smith  kept  both  of  his  Saturday  appoint- 
ments that  week,  and  he  and  his  younger  friends 
enjoyed  themselves  at  quarterly  conference  on  Sunday. 

In  June  1959,  several  members  of  President  Smith's 
staff  at  the  Church  Historian's  Office  took  a  short 
vacation,  going  partway  down  the  Colorado  River  by 
boat. 

Returning  to  the  office,  Earl  E.  Olson,  who  was 
then  librarian  and  is  now  assistant  Church  Historian, 
said,  "For  a  real  vacation,  President  Smith,  you  ought 
to  try  that  river  trip  sometime." 

"Why  should  I  spend  all  that  time?"  was  his  forth- 
right answer.  "I've  been  over  the  Colorado  River  terri- 
tory in  a  jet  plane  of  the  National  Guard.  We've  flown 
high  and  we've  gone  down  low.  I've  seen  the  Colorado 
River  in  a  way  that  few  have  seen  it." 

When  President  Smith  reached  his  eightieth  birth- 
day in  1956,  the  other  members  of  the  Twelve  said 
of  him: 

"We  who  labor  in  the  Council  of  the  Twelve  under 
his  leadership  have  occasion  to  glimpse  the  true  nobil- 


ity of  his  character.  Daily  we  see  continuing  evidences 
of  his  understanding  and  thoughtful  consideration  of 
his  fellow  workers  in  making  our  assignments  and  in 
co-ordinating  our  efforts  to  the  end  that  the  work  of 
the  Lord  might  move  forward.  We  only  wish  that  the 
entire  Church  could  feel  the  tenderness  of  his  soul 
and  his  great  concern  over  the  welfare  of  the  unfor- 
tunate and  those  in  distress.  He  loves  all  the  Saints 
and  never  ceases  to  pray  for  the  sinner.  .  .  .":i 

It  is  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  name  a  part  of  our 
Heavenly  Father's  work  of  which  President  Smith  is 
not  especially  fond,  for  which  he  has  not  used  his 
talents  in  laboring  long  and  hard.  Particularly  have 
his  magnificent  labors  been  expended  in  matters  per- 
taining to  genealogy  and  the  work  of  the  temples.  A 
year  after  his  appointment  as  assistant  Church  His- 
torian he  was  named  secretary  and  director  of  the 
Genealogical  Society.  In  1934  he  began  more  than  a 
quarter  century  of  service  as  president  of  that  society, 
being  released  in  1961.  He  served  as  a  counselor  in 
the  presidency  of  the  Salt  Lake  Temple  from  February 
1915  to  January  1935,  and  as  president  of  that  temple 
from  1945  to  1949.  He  has  been  present  at  the  dedica- 
tions of  nine  temples— St.  George,  Salt  Lake,  Hawaii, 
Alberta,  Arizona,  Idaho  Falls,  Los  Angeles,  London, 
and  Oakland. 

It  can  truly  be  said  of  him  that  he  lives  for  the 
Church  and  for  his  family— and  delights  wherever  he 
sees  spiritual  development  and  growth. 

A  Saturday  near  the  date  of  his  birthday  is  reserved 
for  his  family.  On  these  happy  days,  family  members 
meet  in  a  park  in  Salt  Lake  City,  play  games,  tell 
stories,  sing  songs,  and  enjoy  a  traditional  dinner.  Im- 
portant parts  of  these  occasions  are  the  words  of  advice 
from  President  Smith  and  the  presents  he  distributes 
to  each  one.  The  novel  technique  of  giving  his  de- 
scendants presents  on  his  birthday  eliminates  the 
problem  of  his  having  to  remember  well  over  one 
hundred  birthdays  each  year.  Of  his  ten  living  children 
(a  son,  Lewis,  was  killed  in  military  service  during 
World  War  II),  all  have  been  married  in  the  temple 
and,  at  this  writing,  27  grandchildren  have  been  mar- 
ried in  the  temple  by  their  grandfather.  All  five  sons 
have  fulfilled  missions. 

This  is  but  a  glimpse  of  the  character  and  spiritual 
strength  of  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  prophet,  seer, 
revelator,  and  tenth  President  of  the  Church.  Surely 
he  has  an  important  role  to  perform  for  the  Lord,  this 
people,  and  the  entire  world  in  this  day.  O 


Bryant  S.  Hinckley,  "Joseph  Fielding  Smith,"  The  Improve- 
ment Era,  June  1932,  pp.  458-59. 

-The  Improvement  Era,  September  1951,  p.  687. 
'•The  Improvement  Era,  July  1956,  p.  495. 


8 


V 


Pm   "■             j   "WW  i    i    "'■nfc 

IfHiLlflf*!!!  1 lH  1*0 1  fl   II 


First  Counselor  in  the  First  Presidency 


•  "Harold  B.  Lee  is  a  powerful  man  in  modern  Israel. 
The  source  of  his  strength  is  in  his  knowledge  that  he 
lives  in  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.  To  him,  his 
Heavenly  Father  is  a  senior  partner,  daily  giving  him 
guidance.  His  contacts  with  heaven  are  direct  and 
regular.  To  him,  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  eternal 
truth,  and  he  finds  therein  the  solution  to  every  human 
problem."1 

A  pillar  of  faith  and  works  is  this  man  whom  Presi- 
dent Joseph  Fielding  Smith  has  selected  as  his  first 
counselor.  President  Lee  is  also  senior  member  and 
president  of  the  Council,  of  the  Twelve.  Since  April 
1941,  as  an  apostle  of  the  Lord,  he  has  raised  his  voice 
and  made  his  presence  felt  for  righteousness  in  the 
far  and  near  places  of  the  Church.  Even  before  that, 
beginning  in  1936,  when  he  was  appointed  to  be  man- 
aging editor  of  the  then  infant  Church  Welfare  Pro- 
gram, his  influence  was  soon  felt  Churchwide. 

Born  March  28,  1899,  at  Clifton,  Idaho,  one  of  six 
children  to  bless  the  home  of  Samuel  M.  and  Louisa 
Bingham  Lee,  President  Lee  knew  the  discipline  of 
youthful  days  in  a  rural  community.  With  his  brother 
Perry,  he  took  turns  driving  a  small  sorrel  pony  hitched 
to  the  shafts  of  a  two-wheeled  cart  three  miles  to  the 
district  school.  He  had  entered  the  district  school  at 
the  age  of  five  and  enrolled  in  the  Oneida  Stake 
Academy  at  13.  To  him  learning  was  fascinating,  and 
he  made  it  so  later  for  his  students.  He  entered  Albion 
State  Normal  School  in  Idaho  at  the  age  of  17,  and 
was  teaching  near  Weston,  Idaho,  before  his  appoint- 
ment as  principal  of  the  district  school  at  Oxford, 
Idaho,  at  the  age  of  18.  School  for  him  extended 
beyond  the  horizon  of  books  and  papers;  he  partici- 
pated in  basketball  and  debating,  and  he  played  the 
slide  trombone,  a  talent  that  gave  him  joyful  hours  as 
a  member  of  dance  bands. 


Early  in  his  life  President  Lee  studied  the  piano,  and 
some  of  his  most  pleasurable  hours  have  come  in  shar- 
ing music  with  his  family.  After  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve,  he  would  often  accom- 
pany the  brethren  on  the  piano  as  they  sang  in  their 
council  meetings.  Stake  and  ward  officers  have  been 
surprised  and  pleased  when  he  has  offered  to  sub- 
stitute for  an  absent  organist. 

With  the  love  of  truth  and  completeness  of  faith 
that  are  so  much  a  part  of  him,  he  accepted  a  call  to 
the  Western  States  Mission,  for  which  he  departed 
in  November  1920.  During  his  two-year  mission  he 
served  as  president  of  the  Denver  District. 

After  his  release,  he  moved  to  Salt  Lake  City,  where 
he  attended  summer  sessions  at  the  University  of 
Utah.  From  1923  to  1928  he  continued  his  education 
by  correspondence  courses  and  extension  classes, 
while  serving  as  principal  of  two  schools  in  the  Granite 
School  District,  Salt  Lake  County.  He  then  became 
first  a  salesman  and  later  intermountain  manager  for  a 
library  distributing  organization.  This  position  he  held 
until  1932,  when  he  agreed  to  accept  an  appointment 
as  a  Salt  Lake  City  commissioner.  He  gained  the 
respect  of  many  of  his  fellow  townspeople  for  the  way 
he  handled  his  responsibilities  for  the  departments  of 
streets  and  public  properties,  and  he  was  elected  for  a 
second  term.  He  resigned  the  commissionership  in 
1936  when  he  was  called  as  managing  director  of  the 
Church  Welfare  Program. 

During  the  late  1920s  he  served  the  Church  as 
Pioneer  Stake  religion  class  superintendent,  Sunday 
School  superintendent,  and  counselor  in  the  stake 
presidency.  In  1930  he  was  made  president  of  Pioneer 
Stake,  a  position  he  held  for  seven  years.  During  this 
time  Pioneer  Stake  made  great  strides  in  leadership 
and   teacher   training   programs,   in   a   ward   budget 


Era,  March  1970    9 


A  recent  photograph  of  President  Harold  B.  Lee 


President  and  Sister  Lee  at  home 


plan,  and  in  a  youth  recreational  program,  including 
the  building  of  a  gymnasium  for  stake  activities. 

At  that  time  the  country  was  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
depression,  and  President  Lee  was  faced  with  the 
tremendous  problem  of  looking  after  the  needs  of  his 
stake  membership.  Believing  that  "all  things  are  pos- 
sible to  him  that  believeth,"  he  encouraged  the 
establishment  of  practices  of  self-help  among  his 
people.  He  instituted  a  stake  welfare  program  and 
established  a  warehouse  for  storing  food  and  other 
commodities.  These  practices,  combined  with  the 
ideas  and  welfare  programs  of  other  stakes  at  that 
time,  embodied  the  heart  and  core  of  the  general 
Church  Welfare  Program. 

For  his  efforts  in  this  one  phase  of  his  life's  activities 
alone,  he  richly  merited  the  honorary  doctor  of  humani- 
ties degree  awarded  to  him  by  Utah  State  Agricultural 
College  (now  Utah  State  University). 

President  Lee  believes  that  "this  dispensation  in 
which  you  and  I  live  is  intended  to  be  a  demonstra- 
tion of  the  power  and  effectiveness  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  meet  our  every-day  problems  here 
and  now."  The  buoyancy  of  spirit  and  zest  for  life  that 
characterize  Harold  B.  Lee  have  kept  him  always  in 
tune  with  the  needs  of  the  people  of  the  Church.  His 
constant  counsel  to  the  young  people  of  the  Church 
to  "put  on  the  breastplate  of  righteousness"  is  worthy 
advice  to  all  of  us. 

On  November  14,  1923,  Harold  B.  Lee  married  Fern 
Lucinda  Tanner  in  the  Salt  Lake  Temple.  They  were 
blessed  with  two  daughters,  Maurine  Wilkins  (de- 
ceased) and  Helen  (Mrs.  L.  Brent  Goates).  In  1962 
Sister  Lee  passed  away,  and  in  1963  President  Lee 
married  Freda  Joan  Jensen. 

The  example  and  teachings  of  his  wise  and  stal- 
wart parents  and  the  constant  strength  and  support 
that  he  has  found  in  his  own  home  and  its  under- 
standing relationships  have  given  underlying  meaning 
to  the  great  emphasis  President  Lee  has  placed  in 
recent  years  on  the  family  home  evening,  home  teach- 
ing, and  the  strengthening  of  the  priesthood  in  the 
home.  He  has  shown  his  deep  love  for  his  fellowmen 
in  the  leadership  and  drive  he  has  given  as  chairman 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Church  Correlation 
Program.  As  he  now  assumes  his  new  position  in  the 
First  Presidency,  his  rich  heritage  and  experience,  his 
wisdom  and  courage,  his  strong  testimony  and  great 
faith  will  find  even  wider  expression  in  carrying  out 
the  purposes  of  Church  correlation:  to  make  the 
Church  more  closely  knit  and  to  build  the  kingdom 
of  God  on  earth.  O 


1Marion  G.  Romney,  "Harold  B.  Lee:  Apostle  of  the  Lord,' 
The  Improvement  Era,  July  1953,  p.  504. 


resident  ]\.  Eldon  Tanner 

Second  Counselor  in  the  First  Presidency 


•  "Few  men  are  chosen  for  high  office  in  the  Church 
who  have  a  richer  heritage  and  more  varied  back- 
ground of  training  and  experience  than  Nathan  Eldon 
1  anner. 

This  description  of  President  Tanner,  who  has  been 
called  to  serve  as  second  counselor  in  the  First  Presi- 
dency under  President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith,  is  as 
true  today  as  it  was  several  years  ago  when  it  was 
first  uttered  by  one  who  has  long  been  associated 
with  him,  Elder  Hugh  B.  Brown. 

For  some  nine  and  a  half  years,  since  he  was  first 
called  to  sit  in  the  general  councils  of  the  Church, 
first  as  an  Assistant  to  the  Council  of  the  Twelve,  then 
as  an  apostle,  and  more  recently  as  second  counselor 
to  President  David  O.  McKay,  members  of  the  Church 
worldwide  have  come  to  know  and  to  appreciate 
President  Tanner's  honesty  and  integrity,  his  admin- 
istrative know-how,  and  his  broadly  based  sympathy 
for  fairness  and  the  right.  His  counsel  and  addresses 
have  shown  him  to  be  a  man  to  whom  youth  draws 
near  as  he  discusses  with  feeling  his  thoughts  about 
the  simple  yet  all-important  rules  of  conduct  for  a 
happy  and  productive  life. 

Nathan  Eldon  Tanner  was  born  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  May  9,  1898.  His  parents,  Nathan  William  and 
Sarah  Edna  Brown  Tanner,  had  gone  to  Canada  as  a 
young  married  couple,  but  she  returned  to  Salt  Lake 
City  for  the  arrival  of  her  firstborn  in  her  parents'  home. 
When  Eldon  was  six  weeks  old,  his  mother  and  her  new 
baby,  traveling  by  train  and  wagon,  returned  to  the 
dugout  home  on  their  homestead  amid  the  Latter-day 
Saint  colonists  of  southern  Alberta,  Canada.  There  he 


grew  strong  in  mind,  body,  and  spirit  in  the  rugged 
environment  of  that  sparsely  settled  nation.  He  was 
reared  in  wheatlands  and  often  guided  a  plow  behind 
plodding  oxen.  He  learned  to  love  all  of  God's  crea- 
tions, especially  his  fellowmen. 

Opportunities  for  education  were  meager  at  the 
time;  but  upon  completion  of  the  eighth  grade  he 
found  that  if  he  could  convince  four  others  to  enroll 
for  grade  nine,  the  principal  would  teach  it.  He  found 
the  four,  but  farm  responsibilities  kept  him  away  from 
school  until  after  Christmas.  He  later  borrowed  money 
and  went  away  to  school  for  two  years,  before  return- 
ing home  to  teach.  Some  of  his  students,  feeling  the 
inspiration  of  his  teaching,  desired  grade  12,  which  he 
himself  had  never  taken.  Arrangements  were  made 
for  the  Alberta  Provincial  Department  of  Education  to 
prepare  the  lesson  materials,  and  he  and  his  advanced 
students  would  complete  their  lessons  and  mail  them 
to  the  department  for  grading.  It  was  an  unusual  class, 
with  teacher  and  students  graduating  from  grade  12 
together. 

After  graduation  from  Normal  School  in  1919,  he 
accepted  a  position  as  principal  of  a  three-room  school 
at  Hill  Spring,  Alberta.  There  he  met  and  fell  in  love 
with  one  of  the  teachers,  Sara  Isabelle  Merrill.  They 
were  married  on  December  20,  1919,  and  their  home 
was  later  blessed  with  five  daughters.  (President  and 
Sister  Tanner  recently  celebrated  their  golden  wedding 
anniversaiy  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  with  38  members 
of  their  family. ) 

From  his  early  youth  there  was  never  a  time  when 
Nathan  Eldon  Tanner  was  not  active  in  the  Church, 


Era,  March  1970    11 


President  Tanner  has  greatly  encouraged  the  growth  of  the  Genealogical 
Society's  fanned  microfilming  program. 

Below:     To   celebrate   their  fiftieth   wedding   anniversary,    President   and 
Sister  Tanner  took  their  children  and  grandchildren  to  Hawaii. 


beginning  with  his  service  as  president  of  his  deacons 
quorum.  In  Cardston,  Alberta,  he  served  first  as  coun- 
selor in  the  bishopric  and  then  as  bishop  of  the 
Cardston  First  Ward.  In  1938,  when  the  family  moved 
to  Edmonton,  he  was  named  branch  president,  a  posi- 
tion he  held  until  September  1952.  In  1953  he  became 
the  first  president  of  the  Calgary  Stake,  in  which 
position  he  was  serving  when  he  was  called  to  be  an 
Assistant  to  the  Council  of  the  Twelve  in  1960.  At  the 
October  1962  general  conference  he  was  sustained  as  a 
member  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve,  and  a  year  later 
as  second  counselor  in  the  First  Presidency. 

In  his  professional  life,  President  Tanner  has  also 
served  willingly  and  with  distinction.  He  was  in  the 
field  of  education  in  Hill  Spring  and  then  Cardston 
until  1935,  when  he  was  persuaded  to  become  a  candi- 
date for  the  Alberta  Provincial  legislature.  He  was 
elected  and  subsequently  became  speaker  of  the  legis- 
lature. In  December  1936  he  was  asked  to  join  the 
Alberta  Provincial  government  cabinet.  After  much 
personal  reflection  and  urging  by  his  associates,  he  ac- 
cepted the  assignment  of  Minister  of  Lands  and  Mines, 
to  administer  the  natural  resources  of  the  vast  mineral- 
and  oil-rich  province  of  Alberta.  The  conservation 
program  that  he  organized  during  his  tenure  has  be- 
come the  pattern  for  other  Canadian  provinces  and 
other  lands  as  well. 

Canada  was  a  growing,  expanding  economic  giant 
when  in  1952  President  Tanner  left  his  government 
post  to  accept  a  position  in  the  growing  petroleum  in- 
dustry, as  president  first  of  Merrill  Petroleums  of 
Canada  and  then  of  the  vast  Canadian  Pipe  Line  Com- 
pany, stretching  from  Alberta  to  Quebec. 

Despite  almost  insurmountable  obstacles— financial 
as  well  as  political— he  successfully  raised  the  $300,- 
000,000  necessary  to  build  the  2,000-mile  pipeline 
through  five  provinces.  At  the  completion  of  this 
project,  when  his  contract  terminated  in  1959,  a  news- 
paper in  Alberta  said  in  an  editorial:  "When  a  gas 
pipeline  across  Canada  was  being  proposed  ...  it  was 
agreed  .  .  .  that  the  one  man  in  all  Canada  who  could 
bring  the  various  interests  together  and  build  a  line 
conforming  to  government  policy  was  Mr.  Tanner.  .  .  . 
It  is  now  a  national  institution,  a  major  force  in  the 
economy  of  the  country.  .  .  .  We  move  a  vote  of  thanks 
for  the  work  he  has  done  for  Canada." 

Today,  as  he  assumes  his  responsibilities  in  the  First 
Presidency  under  a  new  Prophet  and  President,  the 
worldwide  interests  of  the  Church  are  truly  blessed 
because  of  the  broad  background  and  experience,  the 
executive  capacities  and  business  acumen,  the  deep 
spirituality  and  devotion  to  the  Lord  of  President  N. 
Eldon  Tanner.  o 


12 


Acting  President  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 


•  When  Spencer  Woolley  Kimball,  recently  called  and 
set  apart  as  acting  president  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve,  was  but  a  youth,  his  father  once  said  to  a 
neighbor:  "Brother,  that  boy  Spencer  is  an  exceptional 
boy.  He  always  tries  to  mind  me,  whatever  I  ask  him 
to  do.  I  have  dedicated  him  to  be  one  of  the  mouth- 
pieces of  the  Lord— the  Lord  willing.  You  will  see  him 
someday  as  a  great  leader.  I  have  dedicated  him  to 
the  service  of  God,  and  he  will  become  a  mighty  man 
in  the  Church." 

That  early  benediction  has  proved  to  be  prophetic. 
Elder  Kimball  has  indeed  become  a  great  mouthpiece 
for  the  Lord  and  a  great  leader.  His  general  conference 
addresses  have  long  been  treasured  by  members  of  the 
Church  for  their  probing  counsel,  easy-to-comprehend 
analogies,  and  refined  and  imaginative  qualities  of 
expression. 

Born  in  Salt  Lake  City  on  March  28,  1895,  to  Andrew 
and  Olive  Woolley  Kimball,  young  Spencer  spent  most 
of  his  life  in  Arizona,  where  in  1898  his  father  was 
called  to  serve  as  president  of  the  St.  Joseph  Stake  in 
Arizona's  Gila  Valley.  His  father  previously  served  12 
years  as  president  of  the  Indian  Territory  Mission,  an 
experience   that   greatly   influenced   young   Spencer's 


love  for  and  desire  to  serve  the  Lamanite  people. 

In  his  school  days  at  Thatcher,  Arizona,  he  was  a 
class  leader,  honor  student,  and  athlete.  Then  came  a 
mission  to  the  Central  States,  after  which  he  attended 
the  University  of  Arizona,  where  he  prepared  himself 
for  a  career  in  business.  He  worked  first  in  banking 
and  then  as  owner-manager  of  an  insurance  and 
realty  company,  and  held  many  responsible  positions 
in  civic  and  professional  organizations. 

In  1917  he  married  Camilla  Eyring,  and  they  became 
the  parents  of  four  children.  Always  willing  to  serve 
in  the  Church,  he  became  stake  clerk  of  St.  Joseph 
Stake  at  the  age  of  22  and  six  years  later  was  named 
a  counselor  in  the  stake  presidency.  In  1938  he  was 
called  as  the  first  president  of  the  newly  organized 
Mt.  Graham  Stake.  On  July  8,  1943,  he  received  the 
call  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve. 

For  almost  30  years  he  has  visited  and  built  up  the 
Saints  in  the  wards,  stakes,  branches,  and  missions.  He 
is  quick  to  analyze  a  problem  and  then,  with  love  un- 
feigned, give  the  solution.  He  has  carried  a  major  role 
in  financial  matters  for  the  Church  and  has  helped  to 
build  the  widely  acclaimed  Church  Indian  Program. 
He  has  become  a  "mighty  man"  in  the  Church.  Q 


Era,   March   1970     13 


•  In  the  prophetic  revelation  re- 
ferred to  as  "my  preface  unto  the 
book  of  my  commandments,  which 
I  have  given  them  to  publish  unto 
you,  O  inhabitants  of  the  earth," 
the  Lord  called  out  in  these  words. 
"Hearken,  O  ye  people  of  my 
church,  saith  the  voice  of  him  who 
dwells  on  high,  and  whose  eyes  are 
upon  all  men;  yea,  verily  I  say: 
Hearken  ye  people  from  afar;  and 
ye  that  are  upon  the  islands  of  the 
sea,  listen  together."  (D&C  1:6,  I.) 

These  significant  words  fit  the 
Asian  countries:  "Hearken,  ye 
people  from  afar;  and  ye  that  are 
upon  the  islands  of  the  sea,  listen 
together." 

In  the  past  two  years  I  have  made 
four  visits  to  these  Asian  lands,  and 
two  earlier  visits  were  made  as  a 
United  States  cabinet  official.  Many 
times  I  have  had  occasion  to  re- 
member these  prophetic  words. 

I  thought  of  the  words  "ye  people 
from  afar"  as  we  visited  Thailand, 
Malaysia,  Vietnam,  Singapore,  In- 
donesia, India,  and  other  lands,  and 
was  told  by  our  travel  agent  that 


we  could  return  to  Salt  Lake  City 
by  traveling  either  east  or  west— 
"the  distance  is  about  the  same." 
I  thought  of  this  as  I  presented  the 
King  of  Thailand  with  a  copy  of 
"Joseph  Smith's  Testimony"— off  the 
press  the  day  before.  It  was  the 
first  Church  publication  in  the  Thai 
language. 

".  .  .  and  ye  that  are  upon  the  is- 
lands of  the  sea,  listen  together." 
How  often  these  words  have  come 
to  mind  in  the  past  two  years.  In 
the  island  nation  of  Japan  at  a 
conference  of  over  eight  hundred 
youth,  we  listened  to  125  personal 
testimonies  in  a  four-and-a-half- 
hour  testimony  meeting  that  closed 
only  to  permit  a  scheduled  public 
meeting  to  start,  leaving  85  young 
people  still  wanting  to  add  their 
testimonies. 

We  were  reminded  of  the  words 
"islands  of  the  sea"  at  the  dedication 
last  April  of  the  land  of  Singapore, 
where  we  already  have  a  congre- 
gation of  some  three  hundred  and 
a  new  church  building  underway. 

Again  we  thought  of  the  words 


of  the  Lord,  "islands  of  the  sea," 
as  we  visited  Taiwan  and  attended 
a  district  conference  in  Manila  in 
the  Philippines  (a  nation  of  some 
forty  million  people  on  seven  thou- 
sand islands),  with  over  two 
thousand  in  attendance.  Again  the 
words  "islands  of  the  sea"  crowded 
in  upon  us  as  we  were  welcomed  by 
friendly  leaders  to  dedicate  the 
land  of  fourteen  thousand  islands 
in   Indonesia. 

A  visit  with  the  leader  of  Free 
China  and  the  increasing  member- 
ship of  the  Church  in  Hong  Kong, 
Korea,  and  elsewhere  show  that 
these  friendly,  humble,  courageous 
people  are  heeding  the  call  of  the 
Lord  and  are  "listen [ing]  together." 

There  has  never  been  a  time  until 
now  when  the  Church  has  had  the 
strength  and  the  means  to  reach 
out  effectively  to  the  Asian  nations. 
In  the  timetable  of  the  Lord,  the 
door  is  now  open,  and  this  is  ap- 
parently the  time  for  the  work  in 
Asia. 

Each  visit  has  been  productive 
and  inspirational.     The  work  is  ex- 


14 


paneling  and  further  expansion  is 
in  the  offing.  In  each  of  the  coun- 
tries the  tremendous  growth  is  an 
inspiration:  this  is  where  the  people 
are— by  the  hundreds  of  millions— 
one-third  of  the  population  of  the 
world.  Of  course,  from  the  total 
standpoint  of  those  many  millions. 
we  are  just  getting  started. 

In  Japan  the  Church  is  quite  well 
established  in  two  missions  and  sev- 
eral districts,  with  more  soon  to  be 
organized.  There  are  nearly  four- 
teen million  people  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Tokyo  and 
Yokohama,  where  we  have  good 
leadership  and  a  stable  organiza- 
tion. A  new  stake  will  be  organized 
there  March  15. 

Japan  now  has  over  twelve  thou- 
sand members  of  the  Church.  There 
are  four  thousand  in  Korea,  over 
five  thousand  in  the  Philippines, 
some  four  thousand  in  Hong  Kong, 
and  more  than  that  in  Taiwan.  A 
beginning  has  been  made  in  Thai- 
land, Singapore,  and  Indonesia.  We 
have  strong  congregations  on  Oki- 
nawa, and  a  nucleus  of  Vietnamese 
have  come  into  the  Church.  Our 
servicemen  in  Korea  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  the  Church  there,  and 
when  peace  comes  to  Vietnam  we 
shall  find  the  way  prepared  for  the 


spreading  of  truth  among  that 
people. 

Mormon  servicemen  throughout 
these  nations  are  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  effective  proselyting  as 
they  make  friends  and  a  few  con- 
verts for  the  Church.  On  our  recent 
tour  we  visited  six  installations  in 
Thailand.  We  have  three  well- 
operating  districts  of  servicemen  in 
Vietnam. 

The  land  of  Indonesia  with  130 
million  people  was  dedicated  Octo- 
ber 26,  1969,  for  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel.  A  new  mission  has  been 
established  with  headquarters  in 
Singapore. 

We  are  building  up  substantial 
congregations,  and  the  foundation  is 
being  laid  for  a  tremendous  expan- 
sion of  the  work  in  Asia.  Baptisms 
for  1969  were  over  100  percent 
ahead  of  a  year  ago,  and  the  trend 
continues  upward. 

One  of  our  great  needs  is  build- 
ings. In  the  entire  Philippine  Mis- 
sion, we  have  only  one  building. 
Building  sites  are  being  purchased, 
and  plans  are  going  forward  for 
the  building  of  additional  chapels 
in  various  parts  of  these  areas. 

In  our  lifetime  we  shall  see  stakes 
and  chapels,  converts  in  great  num- 
ber,   local   leadership   with    power 


and  ability,  and  perhaps  even  a 
temple  erected  among  these  good 
people. 

The  outlook  is  most  encouraging. 
The  Lord  is  blessing  the  new  con- 
verts, the  missionaries,  the  mission 
presidents.  There  is  a  spirit  of 
optimism  everywhere  among  these 
humble  people,  as  men  of  promi- 
nence extend  the  hand  of  fellowship 
and  cooperation.  For  example,  one 
little  branch  of  50  members  in 
Korea  has  five  college  professors. 

May  God  bless  richly  these  teem- 
ing millions  in  the  Asian  countries— 
these  choice  "people  from  afar  and 
ye  that  are  upon  the  islands  of  the1 
sea"  as  they  "listen  together"  to  the 
message  of  salvation  from  the  hum- 
ble servants  of  God— local  members 
and  missionaries,  all. 

For  the  Lord  has  declared 
through  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith: 
"And  the  voice  of  warning  shall  be 
unto  all  people,  by  the  mouths  of 
my  disciples,  whom  I  have  chosen 
in  these  last  days. 

"And  they  shall  go  forth  and  none 
shall  stay  them,  for  I  the  Lord  have 
commanded  them."    (D&C   1:4-5.) 

To  this  I  bear  humble  witness,  in 
deep  gratitude  for  the  Lord's  bless- 
ing on  our  work  in  Asia  and 
throughout  the  world.  O 


The  Mission  Presidents 
in  Asia  Report 


Japan  Mission 

By  President  Walter  R.  Bills 

•  Geographically,  our  mission  cov-  12  million  people,  and  the  northern  skinned  Ainu,  some  of  whom  have 

ers  the  northern  half  of  the  main  island  of  Hokkaido,  where  live  an  blond  hair  and  blue  eyes, 

island  of  Honshu,  which  includes  almost  extinct  people  who  were  the  We  have  6,697  members  and  17 

Tokyo,  the  world's  largest  city  with  original  settlers  of  Japan— the  fair-  organized  branches,  with  17  prose- 


Era,  March  1970    15 


ComP«^S  fay  Jon  M.Tsytof'ik 


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March  1970  Era 


lyting  areas.  Eight  new  chapels 
have  been  constructed— four  in 
Tokyo  and  one  each  in  Yokohama, 
Takasaki  City,  Sapporo,  Asahigawa 
—and  we  own  six  other  buildings 
that  have  been  renovated  into 
chapels. 

Throughout  our  mission,  in  order 
to  attend  church  services,  members 
usually  have  to  travel  from  one-half 
hour  to  three  hours  each  way  by 
means  of  subways,  buses,  or  trains. 
Meetings  are  correlated  so  we  can 
have  one  meeting  after  another, 
usually  taking  most  of  the  day. 
Baptism  meetings   are   often   held 


early  Sunday  morning,  either  in  the 
ocean,  outside  areas,  or  homemade 
fonts. 

Our  members  include  people 
from  all  walks  of  life:  sales  man- 
agers, laborers,  doctors,  dentists,  in- 
dependent businessmen,  and  skilled 
laborers.  At  present  we  have  181 
missionaries:  159  elders  and  22 
sisters,  including  20  Japanese  na- 
tionals. We  baptized  281  persons 
in  1968  and  710  in  1969.  In  1970 
we  have  set  our  goal  for  2,500 
baptisms. 

The  Church  is  becoming  better 
known  throughout  the  eastern  half 


of  our  mission,  primarily  through 
our  extensive  Book  of  Mormon 
program.  In  the  first  six  months  of 
1969  we  sold  6,326  copies,  and  in 
the  last  six  months,  48,147  copies. 
Our  hopes  for  1970  are  to  place 
between  200,000  and  300,000  copies. 
We  hope  to  have  six  information 
centers  showing  the  Japanese  ver- 
sion of  Mans  Search  for  Happiness. 
In  October  1970  we  plan  to  charter 
two  planes  directly  from  Tokyo  to 
Salt  Lake  City  for  general  confer- 
ence. We  look  forward  to  a  great 
year,  particularly  as  we  prepare  for 
Expo  '70.  O 


Japan- Okinawa  Mission 


Bv  President  Edward  Y.  Okazaki 


•  Our  mission  serves  about  half  of 
the  land  area  and  population  of 
Japan,  or  half  of  the  island  of  Hon- 
shu and  all  of  Shikoku,  Kyushu, 
and  Okinawa.  There  are  about  50 
million  Japanese  in  our  area.  (The 
total  population  of  Japan  is  100 
million. ) 

Interestingly,  there  seems  to  be 
evidence  in  Japanese  customs  and 
national  religion  that  the  truths  of 
the  gospel  were  once  planted  in 
Japan:  (1)  in  Shinto  they  have  a 
ceremony  in  which  they  baptize 
for  their  dead;  (2)  when  someone 
dies  he  loses  his  earthly  name  and 
the  priest  gives  him  a  heavenly 
name;  (3)  they  believe  they  must 
do  "work"  for  their  ancestors;  (4) 
Japanese  believe  in  the  patriarchal 
order:  (5)  they  believe  in  cove- 
nants, that  sacrifice  brings  forth  the 
blessings  of  heaven;  (6)  the  story 
told  of  the  creation  of  Japan  is 
similar  to  the  story  of  the  creation 
of  the  earth. 

In  our  mission  we  have  5,281 
members,  with  32  branches,  six 
proselyting  districts,  and  two  ser- 


vicemen's districts.  Four  chapels 
have  been  constructed  for  us;  else- 
where we  rent  buildings.  We 
presently  have  191  missionaries  and 
18  part-time  missionaries.  In  1969 
we  baptized  613  into  the  Church. 

We  are  well  received  today 
throughout  Japan,  and  our  pros- 
pects for  1970  are  high,  particularly 
because  of  Expo  '70,  the  first  world 
exposition  to  be  held  in  Asia,  and 
the  site,  Osaka,  is  in  our  mission. 

The  site  of  the  Church's  pavilion 
is  outstanding.  One  Expo  official 
remarked,  "How  did  you  get  such  a 
choice  location?  You  must  have  had 
some  excellent  connections."  We 
did!   The  Lord  helped  us! 

The  pavilion  is  located  across  the 
street  from  the  Japan  pavilion;  it 
is  near  the  largest  man-made  lake, 
where  people  will  rest  and  cool 
themselves;  and  it  is  one  block  from 
the  largest  public  plaza  where  the 
biggest  and  best  free  shows  will  be 
held.  We  are  planning  to  host  be- 
tween five  and  eight  million  persons 
in  the  six  months. 

The   First   Presidency   approved 


remaking  the  movie  Man's  Search 
for  Happiness,  with  Japanese  actors 
and  scenery.  In  the  meantime,  we 
are  busily  trying  to  rearrange  the 
missionary  lesson  plan  so  it  will  be 
more  culturally  inviting  to  the 
Japanese  people.  We  are  pleased 
with  the  results  of  the  new  language 
training  program  that  is  designed 
to  help  missionaries  learn  to  com- 
municate in  six  months. 

During  the  year  the  Saints  will 
be  chartering  a  plane  to  the  Hawaii 
Temple  for  endowments,  sealings, 
and  patriarchal  blessings. 

Our  baptisms  are  expected  to  soar 
from  an  average  of  nineteen  per 
month  to  200  per  month  in  the  near 
future. 

I  feel  as  one  does  when  he 
thrills  to  the  catching  of  a  big  wave 
with  his  surfboard.  When  Expo 
opens,  our  pavilion  will  be  the 
crest  that  will  propel  us  to  break- 
neck speed.  We  are  paddling  hard 
now  to  be  sure  that  we  catch  the 
crest  of  this  big  wave.  We  want  to 
go  sailing  along,  and  we  can  taste 
the  salt  spray  in  our  mouths.  O 


Era,   March  1970     17 


Philippine  Mission 


•  The  only  nation  within  the 
Philippine  Mission  is  the  7,000- 
island  Republic  of  the  Philippines. 
We  have  branches  and  missionaries 
scattered  from  Laoag  on  the  large 
northern  island  of  Luzon  to  General 
Santos  City  in  southern  Mindanao. 

The  missionaries  come  in  contact 
with  all  types  of  dialects— about  37 
major  dialects  and  over  60  minor 
dialects. 

But  if  any  single  language  could 
be  said  to  be  universal,  it  would  be 
English.   Hence,  the  medium  of  in- 


By  President  Paul  S.  Rose 

struction  for  the  missionaries  is 
English. 

We  have  about  5,199  members 
(1,351  baptisms  in  1969)  in  20 
branches  and  19  groups.  Our  179 
missionaries  are  laboring  in  35 
cities.  We  have  one  chapel  in  the 
Philippines  and  two  more  soon  to 
begin  construction. 

The  Filipino  people  are  probably 
the  most  kind  and  hospitable  people 
on  earth.  They  are  always  helpful 
and  smile  and  wave  when  ap- 
proached.  Since  World  War  II  the 


Filipinos  have  nicknamed  all  Ameri- 
cans Joe— especially  the  mission- 
aries. The  little  children  are  the 
delight  of  the  missionaries  and 
make  many  hot  days  of  tracting  en- 
joyable. They  follow  the  mission- 
aries around— sometimes  as  many 
as  50  may  be  counted. 

Our  missionaries  agree  that  it  is 
now  easier  to  place  copies  of  the 
Book  of  Mormon  and  to  find  people 
who  are  interested  in  the  gospel 
than  it  was  a  year  ago,  and  our 
prospects  for  1970  are  good.  O 


Hong  Kong-Taiwan  Mission 


•  Our  mission  covers  the  island 
of  Taiwan  and  the  colony  of  Hong 
Kong,  with  about  14  million  people 
on  Taiwan  and  4.5  million  in  Hong 
Kong.  The  mission  has  8,673 
Church  members  divided  into  31 
branches  and  three  districts.  We 
have  148  missionaries.  Upon  arrival, 
the  missionaries  are  assigned  to 
learn  either  Cantonese,  which  is 
spoken  in  Hong  Kong,  or  Mandarin, 
which  is  used  in  Taiwan.  Even 
though  both  are  Chinese  dialects, 
they  are  sufficiently  different  that 
missionaries  cannot  be  transferred 
back  and  forth  between  Hong  Kong 
and  Taiwan. 

At  present  we  have  three  con- 
ventional Church  chapels,  four 
condominiums  in  which  we  own  a 
floor  that  has  been  converted  to  a 


By  President  W.  Brent  Hardy 

chapel  (hence,  we  go  to  Church 
in  an  elevator),  one  converted  pri- 
vate mansion,  and  one  small  one- 
room  chapel;  we  also  rent  15  branch 
buildings.  The  gospel  is  being  re- 
ceived well  by  the  people  in  both 
areas  of  the  mission,  and  we  expect 
the  number  of  baptisms  in  1970  to 
be  double  that  of  1969.  The  sta- 
ture of  the  Church  here  is  good. 

Taiwan,  formerly  called  Formosa, 
has  a  population  of  14  million,  of 
whom  4,500  are  Church  members. 
The  economic  growth  is  impressive 
—since  1964  the  national  yearly  in- 
come has  doubled.  Unemployment 
is  almost  unknown,  and  modern 
factories  dot  the  countryside.  Sev- 
enty-eight missionaries  are  assigned 
to  Taiwan. 

The  Church  organization  in  Tai- 


wan is  somewhat  unusual,  for  al- 
though it  is  part  of  the  mission,  it 
resembles  a  stake.  We  have  a 
presidency  and  district  council  to 
run  the  affairs  of  the  Church  there, 
to  prepare  the  leadership  for  the 
day  when  it  may  become  the  first 
Chinese  stake. 

Hong  Kong,  on  the  southeast 
coast  of  China,  adjoins  the  Com- 
munist-held province  of  Canton.  It 
has  an  area  of  398.5  square  miles. 
The  Church  is  progressing  at  a  fast 
rate  there. 

Our  primary  objective  during  the 
coming  year  will  be  to  strengthen 
the  local  leadership  of  the  Church. 
We  believe  that  the  Saints  are  ma- 
turing and  preparing  to  become  a 
great  source  of  strength  for  other 
areas  in  Asia.  O 


18 


Southeast  Asia  Mission 


•  Our  mission  came  into  being  on 
November  1,  1969,  with  head- 
quarters at  Singapore.  The  South- 
ern Far  East  Mission  became  the 
Hong  Kong-Taiwan  and  the  South- 
east Asia  missions.  We  comprise 
the  peninsula  of  Indochina— Viet- 
nam, Thailand,  Laos,  Cambodia— 
the  island  republic  of  Singapore, 
Indonesia,  Malaysia,  Burma,  Nepal, 
the  Indian  sub-continent,  Ceylon, 
and  Pakistan.  Approximately  975 
million  people  live  within  these 
nations. 

At  the  present  time  missionary 
work  is  progressing  in  South  Viet- 
nam, Thailand,  Singapore,  and 
Indonesia.  On  January  5,  1970,  six 
elders    began    work    in    Djakarta, 


By  President  G.  Carlos  Smith,  Jr. 

where  we  have  several  Indonesian 
members  and  about  twenty  Cau- 
casian members. 

Two  years  ago  six  elders  were 
sent  to  Singapore  to  open  up  the 
work  here.  There  are  now  46  elders 
in  Singapore,  and  the  membership 
of  the  Singapore  Branch  is  183. 

In  Bangkok,  Thailand,  we  have 
an  English-speaking  branch  of  225 
members  and  a  Thai  group  of  35. 
In  Korat,  Thailand,  we  have  an- 
other Thai  group  of  about  30 
members.  In  Thailand  30  mission- 
aries are  proselyting  in  four  cities. 

In  Vietnam  we  have  three  dis- 
tricts presided  over  by  servicemen. 
We  have  groups  rather  than 
branches    among    the    servicemen. 


However,  in  Saigon  we  do  have  one 
branch  of  90  members,  composed 
mostly  of  Vietnamese  and  some 
career  U.S.  servicemen. 

Proselyting  is  done  primarily  in 
English  in  Singapore  and  Vietnam, 
and  in  the  Thai  language  in  Thai- 
land; in  Indonesia  most  of  our 
proselyting  will  be  done  in  Indo- 
nesian. 

As  yet  we  have  no  church  build- 
ings, but  we  have  acquired  property 
in  Bangkok  for  a  chapel  that  we 
hope  will  be  built  within  a  year. 

The  Asian  people  are  wonderful 
and  devoted.  This  is  true  in  each 
of  the  nations  in  our  mission— and 
the  Lord  has  blessed  us  in  making 
some  wonderful  friends.  O 


By  President  Robert  H.  Slover 


•  At  the  present,  our  mission  covers 
the  Republic  of  South  Korea,  a 
land  of  31  million  people,  in  which 
we  have  about  4,000  members, 
excluding  the  Latter-day  Saint 
servicemen  and  the  American  gov- 
ernment personnel.  Divided  into 
four  districts,  the  mission  contains 
16  branches,  with  about  100  mis- 
sionaries. 

We  now  have  three  chapels- 
two  in  Seoul  and  one  in  Pusan— that 
are  great  helps  and  that  serve  as 
landmarks  for  investigators  and 
others.  Our  baptism  total  last  year 
was  450. 


The  image  of  the  Church  in 
Korea  is  very  good,  although  the 
Church  has  only  been  here  12 
years.  The  mission  has  been  estab- 
lished for  seven  years.  Even  so,  our 
name  has  spread  throughout  Korea 
through  excellent  press  treatment 
and  coverage,  large  exhibits  about 
the  Church  in  major  cities,  and  the 
Tabernacle  Choir  weekly  broad- 
casts carried  on  a  Seoul  radio 
station. 

Korea  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
American  countries  in  the  world, 
and  Americans  and  seemingly  any- 
thing  American   are   much  loved. 


This  sometimes  includes  the  urge  to 
imitate  American  religions.  Korea 
has  the  highest  percentage  of  Chris- 
tians of  any  Asian  country.  The 
people,  however,  are  highly  nation- 
alistic, and  the  economy  is  leaping 
forward  in  great  steps. 

Our  challenge  in  the  Church  is 
to  build  a  strong  base  in  the  priest- 
hood. We  already  have  many  re- 
markably strong  and  well-versed 
members  of  the  Church  here.  Our 
future  is  very  great  in  Korea;  in 
fact,  we  look  forward  to  a  stake  and 
even  talk  of  a  temple  in  our  distant 
hopes.  O 


Era,  March  1970    19 


The  accompanying  photographs  indicate  the 
strength  and  vigor  of  the  Church  in  Japan 
(beginning  at  upper  left  corner  and  going 
clockwise):  young  Japanese  elder  addresses 
congregation  at  sacrament  meeting;  a  recent 
convert  to  the  Church  is  ordained  to  an  office 
in  the  priesthood;  one  of  the  chapels  in  Japan; 
genealogical  study  group;  family  home  eve- 
ning presentation;  Relief  Society  sisters  ac- 
quire new  abilities;  missionaries  hold  side- 
walk discussions;  Relief  Society  sisters  study- 
ing the  gospel;  and  a  winning  entry  in  an 
MIA  festival. 


«»»  ^mm 


Doctrines 


*  Prophets 


Compiled  and  arranged  by  ALMA  P.  BURTON 

A  ready  reference  on  more  than  100 
gospel  subjects.  Over  900  authorita- 
tive statements  by  Presidents  and 
other  Apostles.  Alphabetical,  topical 
arrangement  of  subject  matter  for 
easy  reference. 

Here  are  just  a  few  of  the  subjects 
included: 

Adam  &  Eve  •  Angels  •  Apostasy  • 
Baptism  of  Infants  •  Communism  • 
The  Devil  •  Divorce  •  Eternal  Increase 

•  Husbands  •  Idlers  •  Love  •  Miracles  • 
Opposition  •  Philosophy  •  Revelation 

•  Second  Coming  of  Christ   •    Spirit 

World  •  Translation  •  Zion 


Conwnents  on  "Doctrines  from  trie  Prophets" 

At  Last!— a  comprehensive  anthology  of  statements  by 
modern  prophets  oh  a  wide  range  of  doctrinal  subjects. 

Just  what  is  needed  for  some  deeper  insights 

Ernest  Eberhard,  Jr. 

It's  amazing  that  someone  hasn't  thought  of  this  before 
.  We  live  in  a  "digest"  era,  and  these  short,  original 
comments  really  hit  the  spot. 

Henry  A.  Smith 

3$ntaifrs  easy-to-find  . . .  inspiration  for  a  host  of  gospel 
topics.  It  will  give  outstanding  heip  to  the  gospel  teacher 
afid  speaker. 

Joe  Christensen 


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BOOKCRAFT 

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P.  0.  Box  208 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah  84110 


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Prophets"  for  which  1  enclose  a          ' 
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Chapels  in  the  Japan 
mission.  Starting  be- 
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clockwise:  West 
Branch,  Tokyo  East 
Branch,  Gunma 
Branch,  Sapporo 
Branch  and  Tokyo 
Worth  Branch. 


The  Hi  story 
of  the  Church  in  Japan 


•  March  1970  marks  one  of  the 
most  momentous  months  in  the  his- 
tory of  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints  in  Japan.  On 
Friday,  March  13,  the  Mormon 
Pavilion  at  Expo  70  in  Osaka  will 
be  dedicated.  Two  days  later,  on 
March  15,  the  first  stake  of  the 
Church  in  Asia  will  be  organized 
in  Tokyo. 

These  two  events  are  all  the  more 
remarkable  when  one  considers 
the  struggle  for  recognition  that 
the  Church  has  experienced  in  the 
69  years  since  the  first  mission- 
aries set  foot  on  Japanese  soil.  Ac- 
tually, the  history  of  the  Church 
in  Japan  spans  two  periods  of  time : 
from  1901  to  1924,  when  the  mis- 
sionaries were  withdrawn  because 
of  strong  anti- American  feeling,  and 
from  1948  to  the  present.    Between 


By  Eleanor  Knowles 

Editorial  Associate 

these  two  periods  perhaps  the  most 
devastating  war  in  the  history  of 
the  world  left  much  of  Japan  in 
charred  rubble.  Yet  from  the  depths 
of  that  war  the  nation  itself  has 
soared  to  become  one  of  the  great 
industrial  giants  of  the  world,  and 
the  gospel  has  caught  fire  in  the 
hearts  of  many  thousands  of  per- 
sons. During  the  first  period  of  23 
years,  only  166  persons  were  bap- 
tized in  the  land  of  the  rising  sun. 
Today  that  many  people  are  some- 
times baptized  in  a  single  month; 
the  Church  membership  in  Japan 
is  now  12,500,  and  it  is  expected 
that  as  many  as  4,000  may  be  bap- 
tized in  1970,  while  the  seeds  will 
be  planted  in  the  hearts  of  tens 
of  thousands  of  other  persons. 

Truly  the  way  has  been  opened 
up  at  last  for  the  fulfillment  of  a 


prophecy  made  in  1903,  when 
Elder  Heber  J.  Grant  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  the  Twelve  (and  later 
seventh  President  of  the  Church) 
stated  in  general  conference :  "There 
will  be  a  great  and  important 
labor  accomplished  in  that  land." 
During  the  last  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  while  the  Church 
was  becoming  firmly  established  in 
the  United  States  and  Europe, 
great  changes  were  taking  place 
in  Japan  that  were  to  lay  the 
foundation  for  the  introduction  of 
the  gospel  there.  Under  the  reign 
of  Emperor  Meiji,  Japan  had 
emerged  from  centuries  of  isola- 
tionism and  traditionalism  and  had 
begun  to  trade  with  western  nations 
and  to  send  delegations  to  other 
nations  to  study  and  gain  technical 
knowledge.   Thus,  it  is  not  surpris- 


Era,  March  1970    23 


ing  that  many  Christian  sects  had 
cast  their  eyes  toward  Japan  and 
were  beginning  to  establish  mis- 
sions there. 

The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  had  been  watch- 
ing the  "new  Japan"  with  great  in- 
terest, anticipating  the  time  when 
the  restored  gospel  might  be  taken 
to  the  people  there.  In  1895  an 
editorial  in  the  Contributor  (fore- 


"  Nothing  will  hinder 
the  rapid  advancement 
of  this  oriental  nation  " 


runner  of  The  Improvement  Era) 
stated:  "The  authorities  of  the 
Church  have  of  late  had  their  minds 
more  or  less  exercised  in  regard  to 
Japan  as  a  country  in  which  the 
Gospel  might  at  an  early  day  be 
profitably  preached.  The  recent 
Chinese-Japanese  war  has  shown 
among  other  unexpected  things  that 
Japan  has  made  wonderful  strides 
within  a  few  years  in  the  arts  of 
civilization.  .  .  .  Nothing  will  hinder 
the  rapid  advancement  of  this 
oriental  nation,  unless  pride  and 
conceit  at  their  success  in  the  late 
war  shall  ruin  the  people." 

Inquiry  was  made  of  the  Japanese 
Consul  at  San  Francisco,  and  he 
responded  that  he  felt  the  Church 
would  be  warmly  received  in  Japan. 
Thus,  on  February  14,  1901,  the 
Council  of  the  Twelve  agreed  that 
the  gospel  be  taken  to  the  Japanese 
people,  and  Elder  Heber  J.  Grant 
was  named  to  lead  the  missionary 
efforts  in  Japan.  Selected  to  accom- 
pany him  were  Louis  A.  Kelsch, 
who  had  just  completed  five  years 
as  president  of  the  Northern  States 
Mission;  Horace  S.  Ensign,  recently 


returned  from  33  months  of  mission- 
ary service  in  Colorado;  and  Alma 
O.  Taylor,  who,  although  he  was 
just  a  youth  of  18  at  that  time, 
would  become  a  great  missionary  to 
the  Japanese  people  and  would  re- 
main in  Japan  nine  years. 

The  four  emissaries  arrived  at 
Yokohama  in  August  1901.  As 
Elder  Grant  was  to  write  home,  "On 
the  shore  hundreds  of  rikishas  were 
waiting  with  their  proprietors 
hawking  their  services  to  passen- 
gers. .  .  .  The  four  missionaries 
moved  among  the  little,  tanned, 
strangely-clad  natives.  .  .  .  Here 
suddenly  they  were  cast  into  a 
new  world— the  people,  language, 
customs,  dress,  buildings,  streets 
were  all  so  different." 

One  of  the  first  things  Elder 
Grant  did  was  to  send  copies  of 
"An  Address  to  the  Great  and 
Progressive  Nation  of  Japan"  to 
leading  newspapers,  in  which  he 
stated:  "As  an  Apostle  and  minister 
of  the  Most  High  God,  I  salute  you 
and  invite  you  to  consider  the  im- 
portant message  we  bear.  ...  By 
His  authority  we  turn  the  divine 
key  which  opens  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Japan.  ..." 

On  September  1,  1901,  the  four 
missionaries  went  to  a  little  hill 
overlooking  Yokohoma,  and  there 
Elder  Grant  offered  prayer,  dedi- 
cating the  land  "for  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Truth  and  for  the 
bringing  to  pass  of  the  purposes  of 
the  Lord  concerning  the  gathering 
of  Israel  and  the  establishment  of 
righteousness  upon  the  earth." 

The  missionaries  did  not  find  the 
warm  welcome  in  Japan  they  had 
been  promised;  in  fact,  in  many 
areas  they  found  great  opposition, 
particularly  among  some  of  the 
Christian  sects.  And  since  they  did 
not  speak  Japanese,  and  few  of  the 
Japanese  people  could  speak  or 
understand  English,  they  found 
their  work  hampered.    However,  a 


few  persons  did  come  forth  to  help 
open  the  way  for  them  to  find  suit- 
able housing,  learn  the  language, 
translate  the  Book  of  Mormon  and 
other  Church  tracts,  and  seek  out 
the  honest  investigator.  Although 
by  the  time  Elder  Grant  returned  to 
Salt  Lake  City  at  the  end  of  two 
years  there  had  been  few  baptisms, 
the  elders  had  made  significant 
progress  in  translating  Church  ma- 
terials, and  they  had  learned  the 
language  sufficiently  well  to  be  able 
to  communicate  with  the  Japanese 
people. 

Elder  Taylor,  who  became  presi- 
dent of  the  mission  on  July  4,  1905, 
was  given  the  difficult  assignment 
of  translating  the  Book  of  Mormon 
into  Japanese.  When  he  had  left 
for  Japan  in  1901,  he  had  been  told 
in  a  blessing  that  he  might  "easily 
learn  the  language;  that  the  gift  of 
tongues  may  rest  upon  you  in  such 
a  degree  that  the  language  may  be- 
come easy  to  you;  that  your  memory 
may  be  strong  to  remember,  and 
that  you  may  know  how  to  con- 
struct that  language,  so  foreign  to 
those  that  you  have  heard  here." 
The  first  translation  was  begun  in 
1904  and  completed  two  years 
later,  but  it  had  to  go  through 
several  revisions  and  translations 
before  an  acceptable  version  was 
ready  to  be  printed  in  1909.  With 
this  missionary  tool  available  at 
last,  the  work  of  the  missionaries 
was  greatly  enhanced.  (Today  the 
Book  of  Mormon  is  available  in  a 
leatherbound  edition  in  Japan,  with 
beautiful  four-color  illustrations,  at 
very  nominal  cost.  During  1969 
missionaries  of  the  Japan  Mission 
sold  more  than  55,000  copies,  and 
in  1970  they  expect  to  sell  another 
200,000  copies. ) 

The  first  years  of  the  mission  re- 
sulted in  few  conversions,  and  some 
of  those  who  did  embrace  the  gos- 
pel later  left  the  Church.  By  1924, 
when  anti-American  feeling  and 
persecution  had   become   so   great 


24 


that  President  Grant  directed  that 
the  mission  be  closed,  the  member- 
ship stood  at  less  than  100  persons. 
Elder  Ernest  B.  Woodward,  one  of 
the  last  missionaries  to  leave  the 
country,  wrote:  "Attendance  at  our 
meetings  dropped  and  continued  to 
do  so;  only  a  few  of  the  faithful 
members  ever  showed  up  around 
the  Church.  Wherever  we  went  we 
were  greeted  by  stony  silence  or 
with  insults.  ...  As  time  went  on, 
the  bitterness  became  more  intense 
and  the  attendance  at  meetings 
smaller.  In  our  tracting  we  met 
with  opposition  and  insult  on  every 
hand.  .  .  .  The  lady  missionaries 
never  left  the  mission  home  without 
escort  for  it  was  not  deemed  safe." 

And  so  the  missionaries  were 
withdrawn.  The  few  faithful  Saints 
who  remained  in  Japan  struggled 
to  meet  together  under  trying  con- 
ditions, but  in  essence  the  Church 
in  Japan  would  lie  dormant  for 
some  24  years. 

On  November  28,  1936,  the 
Deseret  News  carried  a  news  item 
that  was  to  have  far-reaching  effect 
among  the  Japanese  people:  "An- 
nouncement was  made  this  week 
from  the  office  of  the  First  Presi- 
dency that  the  Church  would  re- 
open its  Japanese  Mission." 

Mission  headquarters  were  to  be 
in  Hawaii,  where  more  than  half 
the  people  were  then  Japanese.  A 
few  Saints  who  had  moved  there 
from  Japan  plus  converts  in  the 
Hawaii  Mission  provided  a  nucleus 
for  the  mission,  which  was  reestab- 
lished in  the  spring  of  1937,  with 
Hilton  A.  Robertson  (who  had  di- 
rected the  closing  of  the  mission  in 
Japan  in  1924 )  as  president.  Within 
a  year  four  districts  had  been  estab- 
lished on  the  island  of  Oahu  and 
missionary  work  was  begun  on  the 
islands  of  Hawaii  and  Kauai. 

In  Hawaii  the  gospel  found  some 
of  its  most  receptive  converts  among 
the  younger  Japanese,  who,  Presi- 
dent Robertson  reported,  "are  not 


Era,   March  1970    25 


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satisfied  with  the  religious  philos- 
ophy of  their  parents."  Even  during 
World  War  II,  when  full-time  mis- 
sionaries had  to  be  withdrawn  from 
the  islands,  the  missionary  work 
was  continued  by  local  members. 
As  a  result,  when  it  finally  became 
possible  for  the  mission  to  be  re- 
opened in  Japan,  there  was  strong 
leadership  in  the  branches  in  Ha- 
waii, and  a  number  of  young  adults 
were  prepared  to  return  to  their 
homeland  as  proselyting  mission- 
aries for  the  Church. 

With  the  end  of  the  war  in  Japan 
in  1945  came  the  U.S.  occupation 
forces,  which  included  hundreds  of 
Latter-day  Saints.  These  service- 
men included  many  returned  mis- 
sionaries, as  well  as  Nisei  members 
( second-generation  Americans  of 
Japanese  ancestry),  who  set  about 
to  teach  the  gospel  to  their  fellow 
servicemen  and  to  the  native  Japa- 
nese. 

(An  interesting  sidelight  is  that 
one  young  man  who  was  taught 
the  gospel  while  in  the  service,  and 
who  was  baptized  in  Tokyo  Bay  in 
1952,  later  became  a  member  of  the 
First  Council  of  the  Seventy— Elder 
Hartman  Rector,  Jr.) 

In  1948,  Edward  L.  Clissold  of 
Honolulu,  who  had  been  in  Japan 
in  1945  with  the  occupation  forces, 
was  called  by  the  First  Presidency 
to  reopen  the  mission  in  Japan  (it 
was  designated  the  Northern  Far 
East  Mission)  with  headquarters 
in  Tokyo.  The  first  missionaries  as- 
signed to  Japan  included  several 
of  the  young  people  from  Hawaii, 
and  their  knowledge  of  the  Japanese 
language  helped  greatly  in  break- 
ing down  some  of  the  barriers  that 
had  hampered  missionaries  in  the 
earlier  period.  The  new  mission- 
aries set  about  gathering  up  the 
Saints  who  had  remained  faithful 
during  the  long  war  years,  and 
these  members,  plus  those  taught 
by  the  servicemen,  became  the 
nucleus  for  the  branches  in  Japan. 


26 


What  a  different  story  the  new 
missionaries  had  to  tell,  compared 
with  the  experiences  of  those  mis- 
sionaries in  the  first  period.  Then 
it  had  been  a  story  of  despair,  re- 
jection, struggle  against  almost  in- 
surmountable obstacles.  Now  it 
was  a  story  of  a  people  who  were 
more  friendly,  more  willing  to  lis- 
ten, more  open  to  reception  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  truths  of  the  gospel. 
Although  the  Church's  growth  in 
Japan  after  1948  was  not,  perhaps, 
as  dramatic  as  in  some  of  the  other 
missions  of  the  Church,  it  was  con- 
sistent, and  with  the  growth  in  the 
membership  have  come  the  building 
of  new  chapels  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  full  program  of  the 
Church,  including  the  auxiliary 
programs,  the  family  home  evening, 
home  teaching,  temple  work  (sev- 
eral excursions  have  been  made  to 
Hawaii,  and  additional  temple  ex- 
cursions are  planned  this  year,  in- 
cluding one  to  Salt  Lake  City ) ,  and 
other  blessings  of  the  gospel.  The 
Unified  Magazine  of  the  Church  is 
now  printed  in  Japanese,  as  are 
many  of  the  auxiliary  manuals  and 
other  teaching  helps. 

The  Church  in  Japan  is  now 
firmly  established,  after  a  struggle 
that  spans  seven  decades.  Today 
there  are  two  missions— the  Japan 
Mission,  with  headquarters  in 
Tokyo,  and  the  Japan-Okinawa  Mis- 
sion, in  Kobe— and  each  mission  is 
this  year  experiencing  greater 
growth  than  the  one  combined  mis- 
sion did  just  five  years  ago.  There 
is  a  vast  percentage  of  Japan's 
120,000,000  population  who  have 
not  yet  had  an  opportunity  to  hear 
the  gospel's  message,  but  with  the 
establishment  of  the  new  stake,  the 
highly  successful  Book  of  Mormon 
sales  campaign,  the  Mormon  Pa- 
vilion at  Expo  '70,  and  the  lives  and 
example  of  faithful  members  setting 
the  pace,  the  Lord  is  truly  blessing 
the  Church  in  Japan,  the  land  of 
the  rising  sun.  O 


Far  left:  Joseph  Mc- 
Phie,  former  presi- 
dent of  Vietnam 
Southern  District, 
leaves  fay  helicopter 
to  visit  outlying  ser- 
vicemen's groups. 
Other  photos  show 
servicemen  attending 
a  district  conference 
in  Vietnam  and  leav- 
ing by  army  truck  to 
return  to  battlefront. 


The  Influence  of  Latter-day 

^^...j*^   ^*"'  ^&/,*mmL.  ^mmm^  ^R..  ^^/  i^^, ,    jfiF     ^"fc^-'  -Mm...  ^m     .SSL.  ^t__-     ^ik,-     JR&8L.  JML  Jam.    ^t*— '  JMBk  3BBKL         JHK.vJ9k.JBk.        ..**■..      .  j£m%.9^~JSr  JB9L  ^Sf^BB-' 


•  Recently  the  commander  of  a 
troop  of  helicopter  gunships,  who 
was  a  high  priest  on  his  second 
tour  of  duty  in  Vietnam,  wrote: 
".  .  .  possibly  due  to  the  influ- 
ence of  our  conference,  I  feel  more 
than  ever  a  kinship  to  these  people, 
both  friend  and  enemy.  I  hope  the 
day  may  come  when  I  can  bring 
them  life  in  the  gospel  truths,  rather 
than  death."  This  comment  con- 
veys the  spirit  and  feeling  of  our 
Mormon  servicemen  in  Asia. 

From  the  icy  mountains  of  Korea, 
through  Japan,  Okinawa,  Taiwan, 
the  Philippines,  to  the  steamy  jun- 
gles of  Vietnam  and  the  broad  ex- 
panse of  Thailand,  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  American  servicemen 
are  stationed.  In  their  midst  are 
some  6,000  to  7,000  Latter-day  Saint 
servicemen. 

Their  contribution  historically 
has  been  that  of  a  forerunner,  an 
Elias,  for  the  establishment  of  or- 
ganized branches,  districts,  and 
missions.  The  Church  in  Japan 
blossomed  only  after  World  War  II 
brought,  over  the  years,  thousands 
of  Latter-day  Saint  servicemen  and 
their  families  to  that  land. 


By  President  W.  Brent  Hardy 

Hong  Kong— Taiwan  Mission 

This  same  sequence  of  events 
has  been  repeated  in  Korea.  Latter- 
day  Saint  servicemen  during  the 
Korea  War  brought  the  light  of  the 
gospel  into  the  lives  of  enthusiastic 
and  influential  men.  The  way  was 
thus  prepared  for  the  establishment 
of  a  successful  mission  in  that  an- 
cient land.  A  new  mission,  the 
Philippine  Mission,  now  one  of  the 
most  rapidly  growing  missions  in 
the  Church,  came  similarly  into 
being.  In  Taiwan  a  few  scattered 
Latter-day  Saint  servicemen  pro- 
vided help,  encouragement,  faith, 
and  prayers  to  assist  the  work  there 
in  its  beginning. 

Throughout  Asia  theirs  has  been 
a  dual  role.  In  the  beginning,  it  was 
preparation;  as  stability  came,  they 
provided  experience  and  leadership 
to  assist  new  local  leaders.  In  Thai- 
land, at  the  request  of  a  service- 
men's group,  the  missionaries  have 
been  sent  to  labor  there. 

The  same  pattern  seems  to  be 
emerging  from  the  ashes  of  Viet- 
nam. Though  the  servicemen's 
contact  with  the  Vietnamese  is  very 
limited  for  security  reasons,  their 
influence  is  still  felt.    In  Saigon  a 


branch  of  the  Church  has  about  60 
Vietnamese  and  40  American  mem- 
bers, with  more  being  added  each 
month.  As  the  Vietnam  conflict 
moderates,  freedom  of  association 
with  the  Vietnamese  people  will  in- 
crease and  with  it  the  opportunity 
to  introduce  the  message  of  Christ. 
Materials  are  now  being  prepared 
in  the  Vietnamese  language  to  as- 
sist in  this  effort. 

Nor  is  the  influence  of  the  Latter- 
day  Saint  servicemen  in  Asia  lim- 
ited to  the  people  of  these  lands. 
Military  service  and  its  environ- 
ment put  members  of  the  Church 
face  to  face  with  some  hard  facts 
and  choices.  The  influences  of  home 
and  family  become  remote  voices 
of  the  past.  The  men  have  to  shake 
off  complacent  lethargy  of  com- 
fortable "hometown  Mormonism" 
and  choose  whom  they  will  serve. 
Thankfully,  for  many  this  crisis  in 
their  spiritual  lives  is  met  with 
growing  testimonies  and  vigorous 
desire  to  improve.  When  they  find 
themselves  and  the  meaning  of  the 
gospel,  they  have  a  desire  to  share 
it  with  others.  They  see  themselves 
in  a  new  perspective.    Their  lives 


Era,   March   1970    27 


are  brought  into  focus.  Their  goals 
are  defined.  Though  the  situation 
in  which  they  find  themselves  may 
be  unpleasant  and  their  duties 
cruel,  they  emerge  with  a  clear 
resolve  to  be  more  fully  what  they 
are,  sons  of  God. 

Not  a  meeting  is  held  in  Vietnam 
without  someone's  expressing  ap- 
preciation and  love  for  his  wife  and 
family  and  at  the  same  time  dedi- 
cating himself  to  be  a  better  hus- 
band and  father.  The  boy  who  had 
been  a  "50  percent"  Mormon  finds 
new  meaning  in  his  Church  mem- 
bership and  begins  to  save  for  a 
mission  when  his  service  is  over. 
The  transgressor  repents  and  again 
permits  the  Lord  to  bless  him. 
Someone  who  loses  a  buddy  in  bat- 
tle sees  his  life  in  new  perspective 
and  resolves  to  make  it  more  mean- 
ingful. The  war  is  ugly,  wasteful, 
and  unfortunate,  but  the  sorrow  it 
causes  is  somewhat  softened  by  the 
blessing  of  seeing  better  men,  with 
spiritual  strength  and  determina- 
tion, rise  out  of  the  moral  and 
physical  rubble  it  causes. 

The  Church  among  the  service- 
men is  organized  into  branches 
where  possible  and  groups  else- 
where. In  Vietnam  alone  there  are 
60  to  70  organized  groups,  divided 
into  three  districts.  Each  district 
is  presided  over  by  a  district  presi- 
dency and  district  council.  It  is  a 
testimony  to  see  the  caliber  of  men 
the  Lord  has  provided  for  this  dis- 
trict leadership:  former  bishops, 
members  of  stake  presidencies, 
members  of  bishoprics,  high  coun- 
cilors, high  priests,  and  others  of 
great  experience.  Regular  visits  to 
groups  are  made  by  district  coun- 
cilmen.  Home  teaching  is  done 
where  possible,  and  an  extra  visit 
is  made  in  the  event  of  enemy  at- 
tack. Priesthood  advancements  are 
taken  care  of  regularly  and  temple 
recommends  issued.  For  nearly 
every  Latter-day  Saint  serviceman 
assigned  to  Asia,  there  is  an  oppor- 


tunity to  be  active  and  of  service. 

A  discussion  of  the  Latter-day 
Saint  servicemen  in  Asia  would  not 
be  complete  without  reference  to 
their  contribution  to  the  physical 
growth  of  the  Church.  Throughout 
Asia  chapels  have  been  built  and 
are  being  built  with  the  financial 
assistance  and  physical  labor  of  the 
servicemen.  Through  their  contri- 
butions they  are  helping  people 
who  have  very  limited  financial  re- 
sources to  enjoy  the  benefits  of 
chapel  facilities.  In  Vietnam  many 
of  the  servicemen  give  one  month's 
combat  pay  to  the  building  and 
missionary  fund  for  Vietnam.  This 
same  generosity  is  helping  build 
facilities  in  all  the  missions  in  Asia. 
In  these  material  ways  and  the  un- 


numbered thousands  of  personal 
acts  of  charity,  the  Latter-day  Saint 
servicemen  contribute  to  the  ma- 
terial well-being  of  the  Church  at 
present  and  in  preparation  for  the 
future. 

Only  those  who  have  sat  in  con- 
ference with  four  or  five  hundred 
Latter-day  Saint  servicemen  fresh 
from  the  dirt,  wet,  and  misery  of 
jungle  war  and  heard  them  sing, 
"And  should  we  die  before  our 
journey's  through  .  .  .  ,"  can  feel 
the  richness  of  souls  and  the  depth 
of  conviction  and  source  of  com- 
fort that  living  the  gospel  brings. 
A  witness  of  their  testimony  is 
borne  as  you  hear  these  great  men 
of  the  Church  sing,  ".  .  .  All  is  well, 
all  is  well."  O 


Below  are  scenes  from  Man's  Search  for  Happiness,  specially  filmed  in  Japan  with 
Japanese  actors,  which  will  be  featured  at  the  Mormon  Pavilion  at  Expo  '70  in  Osaka, 
Japan.  The  film  answers  the  questions  of  everyman's  search:  Who  am  I?  How  did  I 
come  to  be?  Where  did  I  come  from?  After  death,  what?  It  points  out  that  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  way  to  peace  and  the  fullness  of  everlasting  life. 


28 


One  of  several 

• 

popular  Japanese 
youth  choruses. 

A  Japanese 
Latter-day  Saint 
family  visits  a 
national  monument. 


Era,   March   1970    29 


Scenes  from  the 
Hong  Kong-Taiwan 
Mission:  Top  photo- 
graphs, members 
perform  in  program 
at  a  branch  party 
in  Taiwan.  Bottom, 
local  missionary 
called  from  Hong 
Kong  passes  out 
Christmas  cards  on 
street  corner  in  Tai- 
wan (right),  while 
Sister  Huang,  a  dis- 
trict missionary,  waits 
at  the  Kao  Hsiung 
train  station  for  her 
new  companion  (far 
right). 


30  Era,   March   1970 


NOW  AVAILABLE  in  response  to  many  requests - 
a  re-issue  of  one  of  the  great  books  of  the  Church: 


twelfth  edition  of 


GOSPEL  STANDARDS 

by  President  Heber  J.  Grant 

A  whole  new  generation  of  Church  members  will  welcome  the  inspired  forcefulness  and  understand- 
able wisdom  of  the  seventh  President  of  the  Church  in  this  vitally  significant  Church  work. 


Typical  Excerpts 

"Now  1  want  to  make  all  mistakes  on  the  side 

"The  Lord  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  will 

of  mercy.    But  once  in  a  while  1  want  to  see 

give  success  to  all  who  work  for  it.    If  1  can 

justice  get  just  a  little  bit  of  a  chance  among 

only  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  youth  of 

people." 

Z+on  the  eloquence,  the  inexpressible  eloquence 

— Heber  J.  Grant 

of  work,  1  shall  feel  fully  repaid." 

— Heber  J.  Grant 

"Gospel  themes  are  elaborated;  practical 
questions  of  life  discussed;  wise  suggestions 
made;  and  more  than  forty  of  President 
Grant's  favorite  spell-binding  stories  are  re- 
told. It  will  hold  the  interest  of  all  to  the  last, 
and  will  come  to  occupy  an  important  place 
in  Mormon  literature." 

Richard  L.  Evans 


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An   Improvement   Era  publication 


TheBcginnings  in 
THAIIAM) 


•  On  November  2,  1966,  Elder 
Gordon  B.  Hinckley  of  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve  and  a  small  group 
of  Latter-day  Saints  from  the  Bang- 
kok Branch  assembled  in  Bangkok's 
Lumpini  Park  for  the  dedication  of 
Thailand  for  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel.  Subsequently,  there  fol- 
lowed a  more  than  two-year  strug- 
gle through  the  seemingly  endless 
channels  of  Asian  bureaucracy  be- 
fore the  Church  was  incorporated  in 
Thailand  November  1,  1967. 

Upon  receiving  approval  from  the 
First  Presidency,  and  under  the 
direction  of  President  Keith  B. 
Garner  of  the  Southern  Far  East 
Mission,  a  vanguard  of  six  elders 
arrived  in  Bangkok  on  February  2, 
1968.  A  home  to  serve  as  their 
living  quarters  was  secured  in  the 
Bangkaoi  section  on  Sukumvit 
Road. 

On  Monday,  February  5,  Presi- 
dent Garner  returned  to  the  mis- 
sion headquarters  in  Hong  Kong. 
His  instructions  to  the  missionaries 
were  short  and  explicit:  learn  the 
Thai  language  and  arrange  to 
have  the  six  missionary  discussions 
translated. 

At  the  date  of  their  arrival,  there 


By  Craig  G.   Christensen 

was  no  Church  literature  in  the 
Thai  language;  not  even  the  name 
of  the  Church  had  been  translated. 
The  elders  relied  on  fasting  and 
prayer  for  guidance.  Within  one 
week,  a  translator  for  the  six  dis- 
cussions had  been  employed,  and  a 
language  school  with  Thai  instruc- 
tors had  been  located.  They  began 
three  weeks  of  intensive  instruction 
in  the  Thai  language.  In  the 
evenings,  time  was  utilized  by 
tracting  in  the  farang  (foreign) 
areas  of  Bangkok.  The  reactions  of 
most  Occidentals  to  the  undertaking 
ranged  from  scorn  to  pity.  "Your 
failure  is  assured,"  the  elders  were 
told.  "The  Thais  have  a  religion 
that  is  perfectly  suited  to  them. 
Don't  try  to  change  a  contented 
people  with  your  western  religion." 
The  thrust  of  these  opinions  was 
amplified  when  it  was  learned  that 
the  first  Protestant  missionaries  in 
Thailand  had  labored  37  years  be- 
fore baptizing  their  first  convert. 
Only  in  recent  years  had  the  entire 
Bible  been  available  in  a  Thai 
translation,  and  it  had  many  flaws. 
According  to  estimates,  97  percent 
of  Thailand  is  Buddhist,  with  the 
remaining   portion   divided  among 


the  Islam,  Catholic,  Protestant,  and 
Hindu  faiths. 

The  first  crucial  weeks  were  ac- 
companied with  a  special  blessing: 
a  young  Thai  man,  Anan  Eldredge, 
who  had  been  adopted  by  an  Amer- 
ican Latter-day  Saint  family  living 
in  Thailand  and  had  been  subse- 
quently baptized,  was  sent  to  live 
with  the  elders  to  help  them  learn 
the  language.  With  his  help,  they 
were  able  to  conduct  the  first 
Latter-day  Saint  services  entirely  in 
the  Thai  language  in  a  mere  five 
weeks  after  their  arrival  in  Thai- 
land. Six  Thai  investigators  were 
present.  (At  this  writing,  Brother 
Anan,  now  an  elder,  is  serving  as 
the  first  full-time  native  missionary 
in  Thailand.) 

The  pressures  and  frustrations  of 
the  initial  weeks  were  made  more 
endurable  through  the  meeting  of  a 
very  special  individual.  Dr.  Gordon 
M.  Flammer  of  the  Bangkok  Branch 
introduced  the  elders  to  an  intelli- 
gent Thai  gentleman  and  his  wife: 


Craig  C.  Christensen,  former  South- 
ern Far  East  (Taiwan  and  Thailand) 
missionary,  is  presently  pursuing  a 
degree  in  history  and  Chinese  at 
Brigham  Young  University. 


32 


Boonepluke  and  Rabiab  Klaophin.  May  15,  1968.   It  was  the  first  bap-  family  were  then  living  in  Korat, 

Mr.    Boonepluke     (Thais    use    the  tismal  service  held  by  the  mission-  and    he   was    again    invaluable    in 

first  name  almost  exclusively)  was  aries    in    Thailand.    (When    I    left  starting  the  work  there.   Korat,  the 

employed  at  the  school  where  Dr.  Thailand  nine  months  later,  he  was  third  largest  city  in  Thailand,  has  a 

Flammer  taught  and  had  expressed  serving  as  a  counselor  in  the  Bang-  population  of  about  75,000.    From 

interest  in  the  Church  because  of  kok  Thai  Branch. )  the  beginning,  there  was  a  special 

his  observation  of  the  habits   and          It  is  obviously  impossible  to  give  spirit  there,  and  the  hand  of  the 

characteristics  of  its  members.  a  detailed  account  of  the  conversion  Lord  was  evident  countless  times  in 

Mr.  Boonepluke  had  taught  him-  of  each  member,  but  there  are  two  the  locating  and  conversion  of  those 
self  enough  English  to  communicate  others  whose  roles  in  the  establish-  souls  whom  he  had  prepared  to  re- 
on  a  fairly  technical  level,  so  the  ment  of  the  Church  in  Thailand  ceive  the  gospel.  Within  a  short 
missionaries  began  to  teach  him  the  should  be  noted.  Brother  Prasong  time  the  Korat  group  had  about 
six  discussions  in  English,  and  he  in  Sriveses,  who  was  employed  by  the  thirty  regular  attendees,  and  bap- 
turn  would  translate  for  his  wife.  Thailand  District  president,  Eugene  tismal  services  were  held  monthly. 
These  meetings  were  very  spiritual  P.  Till,  listened  to  the  six  discus-  The  converts  were  from  all  walks  of 
experiences.  His  desire  to  learn  the  sions  in  "pidgin"  Thai  (as  then  life:  students,  military  men,  com- 
gospel  was  intense.  He  literally  spoken  by  the  elders )  with  a  degree  mon  laborers,  and  two  former 
memorized  each  point  in  the  dis-  of  comprehension  that  can  only  be  Protestant  ministers.  The  circum- 
cussions  and  made  certain  he  had  explained  as  a  gift  of  the  Holy  stances  of  their  conversions  were 
thoroughly  digested  the  material  Ghost.  Brother  Prasong  was  bap-  almost  without  exception  dramatic 
in  each  lesson  before  proceeding  tized  on  June  12,  1968,  and  the  fol-  and  miraculous.  In  a  few  months 
to  the  next.  He  understood  the  sig-  lowing  week  he  was  ordained  a  it  was  necessary  to  find  a  larger 
nificance  of  prayer  and  made  cer-  priest  and  set  apart  as  an  assistant  meeting  place. 
tain  that  his  family  had  daily  in  the  Sunday  School  superin-  The  elders  have  found  it  to  be  a 
prayers.  He  became  a  regular  tendency.  choice  experience  to  work  among 
attendee  at  the  weekly  meetings  A  few  weeks  after  arriving  in  the  Thais.  Their  warmth  and  sin- 
held  in  the  elders'  home.  Atten-  Bangkok,  two  of  the  elders  met  an  cerity  are  unmatched  anywhere, 
dance  meant  a  one-hour  motorcycle  extraordinary  lady,  Mrs.  Srilak-  They  are  quick  to  make  friends  and 
ride  with  his  wife  and  two  children  sanaa.  Of  noble  ancestry,  she  was  are  generally  humble  and  content 
through  the  crowded  streets  of  well  educated  and  had  traveled  with  their  lives.  They  are  quick  to 
Bangkok.  His  punctuality  in  a  land  extensively.  She  consented  to  listen  smile  and  slow  to  anger.  One  who 
where  time  is  considered  only  in  to  the  discussions,  and  through  is  acquainted  with  the  Polynesian 
terms  of  "early"  and  "late"  was  prayer  and  study  of  the  Book  of  temperament  would  not  find  it  dif- 
truly  commendable.  At  length,  Mormon,  she  gained  a  fervent  testi-  ficult  to  understand  the  Thais. 
Brother  Boonepluke  and  his  wife  mony;  she  and  her  two  daughters  However,  the  Thais  are  tolerant  of 
were  challenged  to  be  baptized.  were  baptized  July  4,  1968.    Since  religions  to   an  unnerving  degree, 

Space  does  not  allow  a  discus-  that  time,  her  eloquence  and  strong  thus   rendering   attempts   to   teach 

sion  of  the  ramifications  of  the  Thai  testimony  have  been  invaluable  in  any  one  set  of  beliefs  very  often 

social  structure.    Suffice  it  to  say  the     conversion     of     other     Thai  unfruitful.     This    particular    diffi- 

that    a     Thai    man     who     rejects  people.   She  has  served  the  Church  culty   will  likely  be   unsettling   to 

Buddhism  is  looked  upon  as  some-  as    a   teacher   of   an   investigators'  missionaries  in  Thailand  for  years  to 

what  of  a  traitor,  because  Buddhism  class  and  has  assisted  in  translation  come. 

and  the  Thai  government  are  in-  work.  In  July   1968,   President  Garner 

extricably  related  historically,  cere-          In   June   1968   President  Garner  was  released,  and  W.  Brent  Hardy 

monially,  and  philosophically.  Such  was  in  Bangkok  in  conjunction  with  was  set  apart  as  the  new  mission 

a  person  becomes  a  social  outcast  a  district  conference  and  was  in-  president.   Under  his  direction,  the 

in  many  circles  and  is  almost  certain  spired  to   send  two  elders  to   the  elders    then    laboring    in    Bangkok 

to  bring  disgrace  upon  his  family,  city    of    Nakorn    Rajasima,    better  were  assigned  to  revise  and  correct 

Nevertheless,  after  much  personal  known  as  Korat,  to  begin  mission-  the  then  existing  translations  of  the 

prayer  and  counsel  from  the  mis-  ary  work.  They  arrived  on  June  21,  six  missionary  lessons.   This  proved 

sionaries,  Brother  Boonepluke  and  and    the    following    week    regular  to   be   a   ponderous    task,   for   the 

his   wife   were   baptized  and   con-  Sunday     meetings     were     started,  native    Thai    translators    who    had 

firmed  members  of  the  Church  on  Brother    Anan    Eldredge    and    his  been   hired  were   faced  with   two 

Era,   March   1970    33 


major  problems :  ( 1 )  they  were  not 
familiar  with  the  Church  termin- 
ology and  doctrine,  and  (2)  the 
Thai  language  makes  no  provision 
for  Christian  concepts.  For  exam- 
ple, "Savior"  must  be  translated 
"the  Holy  One  who  helps."  To  date, 
no  suitable  equivalent  for  the  word 
"priesthood"  has  been  discovered 
or  coined.  Thus,  after  only  eight 
months  in  Thailand,  the  Church 
was  established  in  two  cities,  the 
six  missionary  discussions  had  been 
suitably  translated,  and  a  good 
translation  of  "Joseph  Smith's  Testi- 
mony" was  ready  for  publication. 

In  December  1968,  Elder  Ezra 
Taft  Benson  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve  visited  Bangkok  to  attend  a 
quarterly  district  conference.  Dur- 
ing his  visit,  he  was  granted  an 
audience  with  the  king  of  Thailand, 
and  he  presented  him  with  a  copy 
of  the  Book  of  Mormon  and  a  Thai- 
language  copy  of  "Joseph  Smith's 
Testimony." 

During  that  same  district  con- 
ference, President  Hardy  instructed 
two  pairs  of  missionary  companions 
to  travel  throughout  northern  Thai- 
land, in  order  to  determine  which 
cities  might  be  suitable  for  mission- 
ary work.  In  the  northern  provinces 
of  Thailand  dwell  several  hill 
tribes  whose  culture,  language,  and 
traditions  differ  markedly  from  the 
Thais  who  inhabit  the  lowlands. 
The  elders  had  heard  of  a  tape 
recording  that  described  some  of 
these  traditions.  The  following  is 
taken  from  the  journal  of  one  of 
the  missionaries,  Elder  Alan  H. 
Hess: 

"After  a  while  we  decided  to  go 
in  search  of  the  people  who  sold 
the  Karen  hill  tribe  music  tapes. 
All  seemed  to  go  without  a  hitch. 
The  post  office  gave  us  the  address 
of  the  post  office  box  number  we 
had  received.  When  we  got  to  the 
place,  we  found  it  to  be  the  Baptist 
Mission.  They  have  done  exten- 
sive  work   among   the   hill   tribes. 


They  were  quite  curious  as  to  why 
we  wanted  the  tape,  but  they  sold 
it  to  us  anyway.  Later  we  went 
into  a  tape  recording  shop  and 
played  it.  The  narrator  told  how 
the  Karens  have  a  legend  about  a 
golden  book  which  was  given  to 
their  forefathers.  They  say  that 
they  lost  this  'Book  of  Life'  through 
negligence.  They  also  say  that 
some  white  men  will  bring  it  to 
them  again.  Here  is  the  narration 
as  taken  from  that  tape:  'The  story 
of  the  Golden  Book  of  Life  has  a 
large  place  in  the  traditions  of  the 
Karens.  After  Creation,  God  so- 
journed with  man  for  a  while,  then 
returned  to  heaven  to  the  company 
of  His  youngest  son,  a  white  man. 
Upon  arriving  in  heaven,  God  gave 
the  white  man  three  books  of  life, 
one  each  for  his  children  on  earth. 
The  books  were  delivered,  and  the 
white  brother  took  his  leave  to  the 
west,  promising  to  pay  a  return 
visit  someday.  However,  the  Karen 
Indians  soon  lost  their  golden  book 
through  negligence  and  began 
wandering  the  pathway  of  animistic 
fears.  With  fervent  expectation  and 
hope,  the  Karen  looks  for  the  com- 
ing of  his  white  brothers  with  the 
Golden  Book  of  Life.'  This  longing 
helped  open  the  way  for  early 
Christian  missionaries.  It  is  little 
wonder  that  the  Bible  has  become 
the  touchstone  of  the  Karen  Church 
and  its  faith." 

The  following  is  a  translation  of 
a  chant  that  has  been  handed  down 
through  the  centuries  among  these 
hill  tribes: 

"The  old  men  tell  us,  'Children  re- 
member this: 
Remember  that  the  white  foreigner 

will  return  the  Golden  Book. 
When  that  happens,  take  the  book, 

and  take  care  of  it. 
If  you  don't  it'll  be  lost,  and  then 

there  will  be  no  hope  at  all. 
We're  old,  it's  too  late  for  us,  but 

you'll  be  there. 
Watch  the  sea  for  the  big  ship. 


Where  the  waves  beat  themselves 

white, 
Watch  for  the  white  man's  ship. 
They'll  have  the  golden  book. 
Take  it.' " 

Continuing  the  journal  excerpts: 

"Upon  arrival  in  Chiang  Mai  we 
were  speaking  with  some  of  the 
taxi  drivers  and  one  of  them  gave  us 
the  name  of  a  Mr.  Thompson,  who 
was  from  the  Karen  tribe,  but  was 
taken  when  just  a  child  and  brought 
up  by  Baptist  missionaries.  He 
works  in  a  local  bank,  and  is  active 
in  the  Baptist  Church.  The  Lord 
was  really  with  us  in  that  almost  as 
soon  as  we  arrived  back  at  the  hotel, 
one  of  the  workers  there  came  to 
our  door,  and  even  before  we  asked 
she  said  she  knew  where  Mr. 
Thomson  lived  and  offered  to  take 
us  there.  We  went  with  this  little 
lady  on  a  bus  and  up  a  road  on  the 
other  end  of  town  that  would  have 
been  almost  impossible  for  us  to 
find  on  our  own.  Mr.  Thompson 
received  us  most  kindly,  and  upon 
request,  related  the  tribe  legend  to 
us  a  little  bit  differently  than  we 
had  heard  it  before.  He  said  there 
was  a  gold  book  and  a  silver  book 
which  had  been  lost.  The  Baptists 
had  been  teaching  that  one  book 
was  the  Bible  and  one  was  the  hymn 
book.  We  told  him  about  Joseph 
Smith,  the  gold  plates,  and  the 
story  of  the  Book  of  Mormon.  He 
seemed  impressed,  but  didn't  really 
understand  the  import.  But  he  did 
agree  to  pray  about  it.  And  we 
told  him  we  would  go  to  his  bank 
the  following  day  and  take  him  a 
Book  of  Mormon." 

As  one  who  witnessed  the  open- 
ing pages  of  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  Thailand,  I  believe  that 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  words  of  Elder  Hinckley  in  his 
dedicatory  prayer  will  be  fulfilled: 
that  tens  of  thousands  of  Thai 
people  will  one  day  become  mem- 
bers of  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints.  O 


34 


The  Early  Missions 
to  Burma  and  Siam 


•  Early  in  the  1850s  the  leaders  of 
The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  in  Salt  Lake  City, 
England,  and  Europe  became  inter- 
ested in  the  possibilities  of  estab- 
lishing missions  in  India,  Siam 
(modern  Thailand),  and  China. 
This  was  a  period  of  great  expan- 
sion of  missionary  work,  and  the 
idea  of  a  world  church  was  in  the 
minds  of  many  church  members. 

At  about  the  same  time  (Decem- 
ber 1849),  two  young  sailors, 
George  Barber  and  Benjamin 
Richey,  were  forced,  because  of 
needed  ship  repairs,  to  spend  some 
time  in  Calcutta,  India.  They  had 
joined  the  Church  just  prior  to 
sailing  for  India  and  had  a  desire 
to  preach  the  gospel.  They  inter- 
ested several  English  families  in 
the  Church.  This  was  the  first  time 
the  doctrines  of  Mormonism  had 
been  preached  in  India.    Because 


By  Dr.  R.  Lanier  Britsch 

Barber  and  Richey  did  not  have  the 
authority,  the  families  wrote  to  Eng- 
land asking  for  someone  to  baptize 
them. 

At  about  this  same  time  two  other 
requests  for  information  and  "liv- 
ing witnesses"  were  received  in 
England  and  on  the  continent. 
These  requests  came  from  soldiers 
in  the  British  army  who  had  heard 
about  the  Church  from  friends  in 
England.  Within  a  few  months 
three  missionaries  were  dispatched 
to  India.  The  first  was  Elder 
Joseph  Richards,  who  was  sent 
from  England  by  G.  B.  Wallace, 
the  conference  president.  Elder 
Richards  arrived  in  Calcutta  in  mid- 
June  1851.    There  he  found  an  in- 


terested group  of  potential  members 
of  the  Church,  and  he  baptized  four 
people  on  June  22,  1851.  The  con- 
verts were  Matthew  McCune, 
Maurice  White,  and  James  Patric 
Meik  and  his  wife,  Mary  Ann. 
Others  were  baptized  in  the  next 
few  days.  Richard's  visit  to  Cal- 
cutta was  brief,  because  he  had 
signed  on  as  a  sailmaker  in  order 
to  gain  passage  to  India;  and  when 
he  was  unable  to  find  a  replacement 
at  Calcutta,  he  was  forced  to  re- 
turn to  England.  He  ordained 
Maurice  White  an  elder  and  left 
him  in  charge  of  the  "Wanderers' 
Branch." 

The  second  and  third  elders  to 
India  were  sent  by  Lorenzo  Snow, 


Dr.  R.  Lanier  Britsch,  assistant  professor  of  history  and  associate  coordinator 
of  the  Asian  Studies  Program  at  Brigham  Young  University,  wrote  his  doctoral 
dissertation  for  Claremont  (California)  Graduate  School  on  the  early  Church 
missions  to  Burma  and  Siam. 


Era,   March   1970    35 


who  was  at  that  time  president  of 
the  Swiss  and  Italian  missions. 
Elder  William  Willes  landed  in 
Calcutta  on  December  25,  1851. 
Elder  Hugh  Findlay  arrived  in 
Bombay  about  the  same  time. 
Lorenzo  Snow  intended  to  go  to 
India  shortly  after  sending  Willes 
and  Findlay,  but  because  of  other 
church  duties  and  calls,  he  was 
never  able  to  fulfill  his  desire. 

Elder  Willes  took  charge  upon 
his  arrival  in  Calcutta  and  served 
in  India  and  Burma  as  a  missionary 
for  several  years.  The  first  few 
months  of  his  mission  brought  con- 
siderable success.  Word  of  this  fact 
motivated  the  First  Presidency  to 
call  nine  men  to  fill  missions  in 
India,  four  to  go  to  Siam,  and  four 
to  China.  Although  Elder  Willes 
had  sent  encouraging  letters  con- 
cerning his  success  in  India,  the 
Church  opened  Siam  and  China 
almost  entirely  on  faith  and  hope. 

The  missionaries  chosen  to  go  to 
India  were  Nathaniel  Vary  Jones, 
Amos  Milton  Musser,  Samuel  Amos 
Woolley,  Richard  Ballantyne,  Rob- 
ert Skelton,  William  Fotheringham, 
William  F.  Carter,  Truman  Leon- 
ard, and  Robert  Owens.  Called 
to  Siam  were  Elam  Luddington, 
Levi  Savage,  Chauncey  Walker 
West,  and  Benjamin  F.  Dewey. 

The  story  of  the  wagon  journey 
to  California  and  the  voyage  to 
Calcutta  is  a  saga  in  itself,  but  it 
must  suffice  to  say  that  it  was  long 
and  hard.  The  missionaries,  who 
had  been  called  on  August  28, 
1852,  and  who  had  left  Salt  Lake 
City  late  in  October,  arrived  in 
Calcutta  on  April  26,  1853.  The 
Siam-bound  elders  had  gone  to 
Calcutta  with  the  India  group, 
because  separate  passage  to  Bang- 
kok was  not  available.  These  four 
men  set  their  minds  on  reaching 
their  destination,  but  in  the  end 
only  one  of  them  ever  set  foot  on 
Siamese  soil.  Their  intention  had 
been    to     travel    overland    across 


Burma    and   Siam.     However,    the  should  be  preached  to  all  people, 

second    Anglo-Burmese    War    was  and    knowing    that    he    could    not 

then  in  progress,  and  that  route  was  teach  the  Burmese  without  a  knowl- 

closed.     Chauncey   W.    West    and  edge  of  the  language,  he  made  ar- 

Benjamin  F.   Dewey  tried  several  rangements  with  a  native  teacher 

times  to  find  sea  passage,  but  in  and  started  learning  the  Burmese 

the  end,  after  visiting  Ceylon  and  language.    He  also  hoped  that  the 

Bombay,  they  were  forced  because  gospel  could  soon  be  preached  to 

of  bad  weather  in  southeast  Asian  a  group  of  hill  people  called  the 

waters  to  give  up  on  their  attempts  Karens.      He    reported     that     the 

to  reach  Bangkok.  Karens  were  "a  people  held  in  great 

Elders   Luddington   and  Savage  bondage  by  the  Burmese;  but  who 

decided    that    they    would    go    to  seem  to  be  prepared  for  the  Gospel, 

Rangoon,   Burma,  to  work.    From  having    never   been    given   up    to 

there  they  hoped  to  find  a  way  to  idolatry,   though  surrounded  with 

go  to  Siam.  They  were  encouraged  it  on  all  sides.  They  have  amongst 

to  go  to  Rangoon  by  reports  that  them    many    principles    of    truth, 

had  been  sent  to  Church  members  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 

in  Calcutta  from  Matthew  McCune,  in  their   traditions;   and  are   wor- 

who  had  been  baptized  in  India,  shippers  of  God."    His  desire  that 

In  August  1852,  at  the  time  when  the   Karens   should  be   taught  the 

new  missionaries  were  being  called  gospel  was  later  fulfilled,  but  with- 

to  Asia,  Matthew  McCune,  who  was  out  the  success  that  he  expected, 

by  this  time  an  elder  in  the  Church,  From  August  1852  until  January 

was  sent  by  the  British  army  to  1853,  McCune  and  Adams  worked 

Rangoon.  He  traveled  with  William  diligently   at  teaching   the   gospel. 

Adams,  also  a  sergeant,  who  was  a  They  found  that  the  excellent  at- 

member  of  the  Church  and  held  tendance  at  their  first  lecture  did 


the  office  of  teacher  in  the  Aaronic 
Priesthood.  They  arrived  in  Ran- 
goon on  August  17. 

Eager   to    teach    Mormonism    to 
other    members    of    their    military 


not  prove  to  be  a  forecast  of  things 
to  come,  and  they  were  soon  happy 
to  have  any  investigators,  no  matter 
how  small  the  number.  They  placed 
handbills    and    announcements    in 


unit,  they  decided  to  hold  lecture  public  places,  but  their  signs  were 
meetings  each  Tuesday  and  Thurs-  torn  down  and  their  handbills  de- 
day  evenings.  The  first  lecture  was  stroyed.  Nevertheless,  by  January 
held  on  August  23,  and  20  people  1853,  eight  soldiers  had  been 
attended.    The  two  brethren  were  baptized. 

delighted.  They  did  not  limit  One  problem  that  arose  was  in 
themselves  to  the  Tuesday  and  not  having  books  and  information 
Thursday  meetings;  they  also  held  to  give  investigators  and  converts, 
regular  Sunday  meetings  and  dis-  McCune  wrote  to  Calcutta  and  re- 
tributed tracts  and  literature  during  quested  copies  of  the  Book  of 
their  off-duty  hours.  Their  first  Mormon  and  other  literature,  but 
lecture  meeting  had  been  held  in  the  supplies  were  slow  in  coming. 
McCune's  tent,  but  soon  they  were  This  same  problem  arose  from  time 
able  to  arrange  for  a  Burmese  house  to  time  in  other  parts  of  the  mission, 
in  which  to  live  and  teach.  To  have  material  sent  from  Eng- 
At  first  the  two  men  devoted  most  land  was  expensive  and  time- 
of  their  energy  to  teaching  military  consuming. 

personnel,   but  soon  they  became  Elder   McCune   was   transferred 

interested  in  the  Burmese  people,  by  his  military  superiors  from  Ran- 

Elder  McCune  felt  that  the  gospel  goon  to  Martaban  in  late  1852,  and 


36 


by  the  first  part  of  1853,  he  was 
scheduled  to  move  into  the  field  of 
combat.  From  January  to  August 
1853,  he  was  on  active  military 
duty,  continuing  his  work  as  a  mis- 
sionary while  in  the  field  with  his 
company.  After  his  company  had 
left  Martaban,  it  marched  for  six 
weeks  through  the  Sitang  Valley. 
During  this  time  McCune  was 
teaching  the  gospel,  and  he  was 
able  to  baptize  one  man  while  on 
the  six-week  trek. 

At  the  end  of  the  movement,  the 
"Martaban  column"  stopped  for 
two  months  at  a  town  called  Sho- 
waygheen.  While  there  McCune 
was  "fortunate  enough  to  obtain  use 
of  a  phonghee -house,  that  is,  the 
house  of  the  Buddhist  priests,  to 
live  in,  and  I  made  a  chapel  of  it, 
continuing  our  meetings  for  preach- 
ing, the  same  as  on  the  march." 

In  a  short  time,  however,  he  was 
turned  out  of  this  place  by  the 
military  authorities.  He  set  up 
chapels  three  times,  but  each  time 
was  told  to  leave.  The  following  is 
his  description  of  the  third  dis- 
placement: 

"I  then  obtained  permission  of 
the  engineering  officer  to  take  pos- 
session of  an  image-house  on  the 
top  of  a  hill,  beside  a  pagoda.  This 
house  was  filled  at  one  end  with 
large  gilt  images— the  gods  of  the 
poor  Burmese.  This  I  ivalled  in 
with  mats,  and  I  had  a  floor  of 
wood  put  in  it  for  me,  by  the  kind 
engineer  officer,  and  here  I  again 
commenced  preaching  the  Gospel 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  I  had 
not  held  possession  more  than  a 
fortnight,  when  I  was  again  warned 
to  turn  out,  as  the  authorities  re- 
quired to  build  a  magazine  for 
powder  round  the  pagoda,  the  wall 
of  which  magazine,  they  said, 
would  have  to  run  through  my 
chapel.  They  commenced  pulling 
down  just  sufficient  of  the  roof  to 
render  the  building  uninhabitable, 
and  then  stopped.  1  moved  into  my 


Era,  March  1970    37 


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tent,  with  the  feeling  deeply  im- 
pressed on  my  mind  that  my  work 
was  done  at  Showaygheen." 

During  the  time  that  McCune 
was  able  to  hold  meetings  in  the 
various  houses  in  Showaygheen,  he 
baptized  two  more  men.  In  August, 
when  he  arrived  in  Rangoon,  he 
found  that  the  little  branch  there 
had  become  inactive.   The  persecu- 


tion had  been  too  great  for  the  new 
convert  who  had  been  left  in 
charge.  McCune  was,  of  course, 
disappointed  to  find  affairs  in  this 
state,  but  he  was  soon  given  hope 
by  the  arrival  of  two  American 
missionaries,  Elders  Luddington 
and  Savage. 

On  June  15,  1853,  Elam  Ludding- 
ton   and    Levi    Savage    had    taken 


The 
Spoken  Word 


"The  Spoken  Word"  from  Tem- 
ple Square,  presented  over  KSL 
and  the  Columbia  Broadcasting 
System  December  14, 1969.©1969 


Infinite  kindness 

By  Richard  L.  Evans 

Red  Barber  reminds  us  of  one  overall  quality  that  Branch  Rickey 
said  a  man  must  have  if  he  were  to  marry  one  of  the  famous  base- 
ball manager's  daughters.  Well,  one  could  imagine  a  long  list  of  all 
the  virtues  and  attributes  that  would  be  required:  honor,  ambition,  tal- 
ent, money,  social  acceptance,  and  all  the  others.  But  the  one  quality 
absolutely  required  was  this:  infinite  kindness.1  Kindness  might  seem  to 
be  secondary,  but  it  quickly  broadens  out  on  a  wide  base.  If  a  person 
is  sincerely  kind,  he  wouldn't  deceive,  he  wouldn't  hurt,  he  wouldn't 
make  unhappy.  If  a  person  is  sincerely  kind,  he  wouldn't  disappoint  a 
loved  one  by  being  dishonest,  disloyal,  unfaithful.  Immorality  is  not 
kind — not  to  others  or  ourselves.  Dishonesty  is  not  kind — not  to  any- 
one. Lack  of  support,  lack  of  encouragement,  lack  of  cooperation  are 
not  kind.  Infinite  kindness  includes  consideration,  compassion,  loyalty 
— and  increases  love.  Oh,  how  many  hearts  have  been  broken,  how 
many  lives  have  been  blighted  by  the  cruelty  of  unkindness!  Yet  how 
many  marriages  have  been  saved,  how  many  sorrows  softened  by  the 
quality  of  kindness!  Kindness  would  respect,  care  for,  comfort.  Kind- 
ness would  bring  people  closer.  Kindness  would  hallow  a  home,  even 
in  the  presence  of  many  problems.  The  Master  of  mankind  spoke 
sharply  at  times,  and  rebuked  as  occasion  required,  but  it  is  not  re- 
corded that  he  was  unkind  ever  to  a  sincere  or  repentant  person.  One 
wouldn't  want  a  son,  a  daughter,  a  child  committed  in  any  way  to 
anyone  who  was  cruel  or  unkind.  Kindness  would  surely  have  to  be 
high  among  the  qualities  of  a  husband,  a  wife,  a  child,  a  parent,  or 
any  acceptable  person.  Infinite  kindness — it  could  save  a  marriage.  It 
could  bring  out  the  best;  it  could  cover  for  many  other  qualities. 

"Oh,  the  kind  words  we  give  shall  in  memory  live 

And  sunshine  forever  impart. 

Let  us  oft  speak  kind  words  to  each  other; 

Kind  words  are  sweet  tones  of  the  heart."2 


'Red  Barber,  Walk  in  the  Spirit:  Mr.  Rickey.  The  Dial  Press,  Inc. 
Joseph  L.  Townsend,  "Let  Us  Oft  Speak  Kind  Words." 


passage  on  the  Fire  Queen,  which 
was  bound  for  Rangoon.  This  voy- 
age, the  first  of  two  attempts  to 
sail  to  Burma,  nearly  took  the  lives 
of  the  persons  on  board.  Because 
of  a  severe  storm,  they  were  forced 
to  turn  back  to  Calcutta.  Elder 
Amos  Musser,  a  missionary  who  was 
stationed  in  Calcutta,  described  the 
return  of  Elders  Luddington  and 
Savage : 

"While  at  dinner  Brother  Lud- 
dington came  in,  in  an  awful  pre- 
dicament, close  [sic]  dirty,  hat  re- 
duced to  2/3  the  size,  etc.,  etc.  The 
ship  they  started  to  Rangoon  in, 
three  days  after  they  left  here  she 
sprung  a  leak  and  they  had  been 
hailing  and  pumping  water  night 
and  day  ever  since.  They  throwed 
all  their  cargo  overboard  and  gave 
themselves  up  to  the  Lord  and  re- 
signed themselves  for  a  watery 
grave.  They  throwed  all  of  the 
stores  overboard,  but  the  Lord  de- 
livered them  safe.  This  trial  came 
in  exact  fulfilment  of  what  Brother 
Woodruff  told  us  before  we  left 
home  in  the  mountains.  He  said  the 
spirit  whispered  to  him  that  some 
of  us  would  have  great  trials  at  sea, 
etc.,  etc" 

After  a  little  over  a  month  in  dry 
dock,  the  Fire  Queen  was  once 
again  ready  to  sail.  When  Elders 
Luddington  and  Savage  arrived  in 
Rangoon,  they  began  holding  meet- 
ings on  the  same  schedule  that  had 
been  followed  by  McCune  and 
Adams.  The  location  of  the  meet- 
ings was  changed,  however,  to  a 
place  within  the  military  stockade, 
"near  the  great  Shirah-dong  Pa- 
goda." The  meetings  were  well 
attended. 

In  a  letter  to  President  Richards 
in  England,  Elder  Luddington  told 
of  the  success  he  was  having  in 
preaching  on  the  government  wharf 
in  Rangoon.  He  told  of  one  meeting 
in  which  he  spoke  "to  Burmese, 
Bengalese,  Malays,  Brahmins  of 
different    castes,    Mussulmen,    Ar- 


38    Era,  March  1970 


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menians,  Jews,  and  gentiles." 

In  the  meantime,  Elder  Savage 
decided  that  he  would  branch  out 
on  his  own.  He  felt  that  he  would 
be  happier  if  he  went  to  work  with 
the  Burmese.  On  September  28, 
1853,  he  left  Rangoon  and  went  to 
Moulmein,  across  the  Gulf  of 
Martaban,  where  he  remained  for 
some  months,  spending  a  great  part 
of  his  time  attempting  to  learn  the 
Burmese  language. 

By  January  1854,  Elder  Ludding- 
ton,  with  the  assistance  of  Elder 
McCune,  had  been  able  to  baptize 
two  more  soldiers  into  the  Church. 
But  the  work  was  moving  slowly, 
for  in  the  year  and  a  half  that 
McCune  had  been  in  Rangoon,  only 
ten  persons  had  become  members. 
Because  of  the  lack  of  progress  in 
Rangoon,  and  because  Luddington 
still  had  a  desire  to  fulfill  his  mis- 
sion call  to  Siam,  he  sailed  from 
Rangoon  for  Singapore  on  February 
3,  1854,  arriving  at  Pulo  Penang, 
or  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  in  late 
February.  After  a  stay  there  of  five 
days,  during  which  he  preached  the 
gospel,  he  sailed  again,  this  time  to 
Singapore.  From  there  he  took 
passage  on  a  ship  bound  for  Bang- 
kok, arriving  there  April  6,  1854.  A 
few  weeks  later  he  wrote  to  the 
Saints  in  England;  "I  am  following 
my  calling  at  this  time  in  the  jungles 
of  Siam,  far  from  a  civilized  nation, 
and  surrounded  on  the  one  hand  by 
wild  savages,  and  by  wild  beasts 
on  the  other." 

In  Bangkok,  Elder  Luddington 
held  meetings  whenever  possible. 
His  first  service  was  held  on  April 
9  at  the  home  of  Captain  James 
Trail,  the  skipper  of  the  ship  in 
which  he  had  sailed  to  Bangkok. 
After  hearing  Luddington's  words, 
the  captain  and  his  wife  asked  for 
baptism  and  were  baptized  that 
night. 

Unfortunately,  the  remainder  of 
Elder  Luddington's  mission  to  Siam 
did  not  yield  such  rewards.  Captain 


40    Era,   March  1970 


Trail  and  his  wife  were,  in  fact,  the 
only  converts  in  Bangkok.  Ludding- 
ton, however,  did  have  some  ex- 
periences that  were  rather  unusual. 
He  called  on  the  Siamese  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  one-hour  conversa- 
tion, the  minister  asked  him 
whether  the  prophet  of  God  would 
come  to  Bangkok.  On  another 
occasion  he  was  requested  to  write 
a  letter  to  the  king  of  Siam.  He 
reported : 

"I  have  written  a  long  letter  to 
the  king— To  His  Most  Gracious 
Majesty  Phrabat  Somdet  Pra  Chom 
Klaw  Chao  Ya  llua,  sovereign  of 
Laos,  at  his  request.  He  being  de- 
sirous to  knoio  something  about  the 
gold  plates,  I  gave  him  a  brief 
synopsis  of  the  same.  He  is  about 
fifty  years  old,  and  has  a  family 
of  several  hundred  wives,  and  chil- 
dren without  number." 

In  March  1854,  Elder  William 
Willes,  the  second  missionary  to 
India,  who  by  this  time  had  been 
given  his  choice  to  stay  in  India  or 
go  home,  decided  to  go  to  Rangoon 
to  help  Elder  McCune,  who  was 
now  working  alone  in  that  city. 
Elder  Willes  added  a  great  deal  of 
enthusiasm  to  the  Burma  Mission 
during  the  six  months  he  stayed 
there.  He  baptized  20  persons  and 
opened  a  school  to  teach  the  Eng- 
lish language.  He  used  the  money 
that  he  earned  in  teaching  English 
to  pay  for  his  passage  home  to 
England. 

In  August  1854,  when  Elder 
Willes  had  been  in  Rangoon  for  six 
months,  he  wrote  that  the  work  had 
slowed  down  a  great  deal.  At  that 
time  Nathanial  V.  Jones,  president 
of  the  mission,  once  again  invited 
Willes  to  take  his  leave  whenever 
he  felt  so  inclined.  Apparently  the 
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Jones  decided  to  go  to  Burma  for  a 
while.  His  trip  there,  as  he  writes 
in  a  letter,  was  admittedly  at  least 


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in  part  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
away  from  Calcutta.  When  he  ar- 
rived in  Rangoon,  he  worked  with 
the  elders  there  for  a  few  days  and 
then  sailed  across  the  Gulf  of  Marta- 
ban  to  Moulmein,  to  see  Elder 
Savage.  Savage  had  by  this  time 
been  in  Moulmein  for  about  a  year 
and  had  devoted  his  attentions  to 
the  native  people.  He  was  becom- 
ing quite  fluent  in  the  Burmese  lan- 


desires  and  anticipations  that  we 
should  find  a  people  that  would 
receive  our  testimony.  The  first 
night  set  us  far  beyond  the  reach 
of  the  European  population,  in  the 
midst  of  the  swarming  multitudes 
that  inhabit  this  country.  That  night 
we  stopped  in  a  Karen  village, 
which  we  reached  some  time  after 
nightfall,  in  not  a  very  agreeable 
condition,  for  I  had  the  misfortune 


"1  told  the  captain  that  the  man,  kingdom, 
or  nation  that  fought  against  the  Saints . . . 
should  go  backward  and  not  forward, 
should  sink  and  not  swim,'"  replied  the  elder 


guage;  however,  he  had  not  made 
any  conversions  to  the  Church. 
Because  Elder  Jones  felt  that  Sav- 
age could  be  helpful  to  him,  he  took 
him  back  to  Rangoon. 

In  addition  to  his  desire  to  get 
away  from  Calcutta,  Jones  was 
also  interested  in  supervising  the 
Rangoon  Branch  and  seeing  wheth- 
er he  could  give  the  elders  encour- 
agement in  their  work  there. 
Another  purpose  was  to  visit  the 
Karens.  After  returning  to  Rangoon 
from  Moulmein,  Elder  Jones  stated: 

"We  then  began  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  our  trip  amongst  the 
Karens.  We  tried  to  get  some  con- 
veyance by  land,  but  soon  learned 
that  in  consequence  of  the  incessant 
rains  that  prevail  here  six  months 
of  the  year,  an  overland  trip  was 
no  way  practicable,  having  to  cross 
mullahs  (ravines),  and  low  strips  of 
land  which  were  in  all  probability 
inundated.  As  a  last  resort,  we 
came  to  the  conclusion  to  hire  a 
boat  which  we  did  for  four  English 
shillings  per  day.  We  then  provided 
ourselves  with  the  needful  for  the 
campaign,  and  set  off  buoyant  with 


just  before  night  to  get  an  overturn, 
by  which  I  was  enabled  to  judge 
correctly  the  depth  of  the  water, 
which  I  found  to  be  several  feet. 
We,  however,  made  the  best  of  it 
for  the  night,  and  by  morning  my 
clothes  were  partly  dry.  But  with 
the  daylight  came  a  strange  and 
magic  view,  to  American  eyes— a 
whole  community  of  villages  upon 
posts  from  six  to  ten  feet  above  the 
water.  They  looked  like  the  in- 
habitants of  Neptune,  that  had  just 
emerged  from  the  watery  element. 
An  old  adage  came  to  mind  with 
much  force,  which  was,  that  'one 
half  of  the  world  do  not  know  how 
the  other  half  live.'  This  is  literally 
true.  .  .  ." 

Elder  Jones  was  interested  in  the 
way  the  Karen  people  lived,  but  he 
was  most  concerned  with  their  re- 
ligious views.  He  hoped  that  the 
reports  that  they  had  a  belief  in 
God  would  prove  to  be  true. 

"In  their  religious  views  we  did 
not  find  the  people  as  represented. 
They  do  not  worship  the  'Great 
Spirit,'  as  the  missionaries  have 
stated.    Very   many   of  them  are 


Buddhists,  and  those  who  are  not 
do  not  worship  anything— they  have 
no  correct  idea  of  God  at  all. 
Brother  Savage  told  them  who  we 
were,  and  the  nature  of  our  mes- 
sage. It  was  a  new  train  of  thought, 
and  such  a  burst  of  new  ideas  upon 
their  contracted  minds,  that  they 
could  not  comprehend  it  at  all. 
They  will  not  understand  that  we 
know  anything  of  the  God  whom 
we  worship,  only  in  the  same  man- 
ner that  they  do— that  is,  by  some 
fabulous  legend  or  tradition  like 
their  own.  They  know  nothing  of 
the  past,  only  by  tradition;  which 
forms  the  leading  feature  in  their 
character,  and  I  think  it  is  more 
firmly  reveted  upon  their  minds 
than  any  other  people's  in  the 
world;  in  fact  all  Asiatics  partake 
more  or  less  of  this  spirit,  it  is  inter- 
woven with  their  very  existence, 
and  it  is  almost  a  thing  impossible 
to  make  any  inroad  upon  them. 
They  are  indeed  a  strange  sect,  and 
it  is  like  commencing  with  the  raw 
material  to  do  anything  with  them, 
for  they  must  be  remodeled 
throughout,  and  there  seems  so 
little  to  commence  upon  that  it  is 
difficult  to  begin  the  work  of 
creation." 

As  they  traveled  from  village  to 
village,  Elders  Jones  and  Savage 
found  the  Karen  people  to  be  much 
alike  in  their  beliefs  and  reactions 
to  the  gospel.  Although  they  were 
disappointed  by  their  lack  of  suc- 
cess, the  elders  still  felt  that  the 
Burmese  and  Karen  people  were  the 
finest  Asiatics  they  had  worked 
with. 

Upon  their  return  to  Rangoon, 
Elder  Jones  went  back  to  Calcutta; 
Elder  Savage,  who  was  working  on 
a  translation  of  The  Vision  of 
Joseph  Smith  into  the  Burmese  lan- 
guage, decided  to  stay  in  Rangoon 
for  a  while  longer. 

In  the  meantime,  Elder  Willes 
sailed  on  a  ship  bound  for  Pulo 
Penang,  from  where  he  planned  to 


42 


find  a  ship  that  was  going  to  the 
west  coast  of  America,  but  in  this 
he  was  not  successful.  A  captain 
then  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  go 
to  Singapore.  He  later  found  that 
he  had  been  offered  passage  so 
"that  he  might  assist  him  [the  cap- 
tain] and  the  crew  in  defending 
them  from  the  piratical  Malays, 
who  infest  the  Straits  of  Malacca." 

Fortunately  there  was  not  an 
attack  from  the  Malays,  and  Willes 
reached  Singapore  safely.  There 
he  was  surprised  to  find  Elder 
Luddington,  who  had  been  working 
in  Bangkok,  but  who  was  "about 
the  same  as  mobbed  out."  Ludding- 
ton wrote  of  their  meeting: 
"Brother  Willes  spent  four  days 
with  me,  which  was  like  balm  to 
a  wounded  spirit,  or  water  to  a 
thirsty  man.  When  I  was  hungry, 
he  took  me  to  the  bazzar  [sic],  and 
bought  me  a  loaf  of  bread  and  a 
bowl  of  soup  with  a  few  vegetables 
and  China  fixings."  Even  though 
the  elders  would  have  preferred 
staying  together  longer,  Willes 
made  arrangements  to  sail  to  Liver- 
pool, England,  on  the  ship  Gazelle, 
and  so  they  parted  on  October  14, 
1854. 

Elder  Luddington  soon  sailed 
from  Singapore.  On  December  10, 
1854,  he  wrote  to  President  Frank- 
lin D.  Richards,  telling  of  his  ex- 
periences at  sea: 

"I  arrived  in  this  place  [Hong 
Kong]  on  the  morning  of  the  first 
instant,  after  a  long  and  sickening 
voyage  of  35  days  from  the  Straits 
of  Malacca,  or  Singapore.  We  put 
in  here  in  distress.  I  was  a  pas- 
senger on  hoard  the  Prince  Woron- 
zoff  from  Edinburgh,  Scotland. 

"On  the  ninth  day  out,  15  miles 
to  the  westward  of  Paliwon  Is- 
land .  .  .  fust  before  dawn  of  day,  on 
Saturday  the  4th  of  November,  in 
a  heavy  fog  and  rain,  our  clipper 
struck  with  great  violence  on  a 
coral  reef,  or  sunken  rock.  The 
captain  ordered  port  helm,  and  all 


on  board  was  as  silent  as  the  char- 
nal  house  of  death.  We  struck 
three  or  four  times  on  those  rough 
and  pointed  rocks,  and  our  hopes 
were  almost  gone,  and  death  stared 
us  in  the  face,  but  thank  the  Lord, 
He  sent  to  our  relief  an  unusually 
large  wave,  which  carried  us  over 
the  rock  into  deep  water.  We 
manned  the  pumps,  and  sounded 
the  water  in  the  hold,  and  found 
the  vessel  made  one  inch  of  water 
every  three  minutes,  or  20  inches 
per  hour.  Our  spirits  groaned  with- 
in us.  It  was  a  time  of  deepest 
distress.  I  felt  that  my  mission  had 
been  according  to  the  will  of  heav- 
en, and  I  could  not  but  ask,  "Father, 
must  I  leave  my  body  here?"  But 
I  felt,  'Thy  will,  O  Lord,  be  done.' 

"I  had  a  little  hope  that  we  might 
save  ourselves  in  our  boats,  but  to 
our  terror  the  captain  informed  us 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Paliwon  Is- 
land were  all  cannibals.  The  island 
is  not  far  from  Borneo.  .  .  . 

"Our  gallant  brig  was  bound  for 
Shanghai,  and  the  captain  was  de 
termined  to  run  her  into  that  port, 
if  possible  to  save  expense,  other- 
wise we  might  have  put  into 
Manilla,  which  would  have  been 
far  better. 

"Here  commenced  the  epoch— 
trouble,  sorrow,  sickness,  pain  vitu- 
peration, and  abuse.  I  was  sick  and 
had  to  stand  in  the  water  at  the 
brake  of  the  pump  morning  and 
night,  to  keep  us  afloat,  and  save 
our  lives,  with  however  little  hopes. 
We  were  for  15  days  in  a  gale  of 
wind.  .  .  .  Sometimes  we  carried  on 
mountain  waves,  and  then  again 
thrust  down  into  the  great  abyss 
of  waters,  in  the  troughs  of  the  sea, 
expecting  at  times  to  be  buried,  as 
the  vessel  often  shipped  seas  which 
swept  the  decks  fore  and  aft.  I  was 
sick,  and  my  body  was  born  down 
with  pain  from  costiveness  and  the 
general  disorganized  state  of  my 
system. 

"All  this  toas  but  trifling.    Said 

Era,  March   1970    43 


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the  captain,  'Ah!  you  are  the  Judas, 
your  religion  is  of  the  devil,  you 
ought  to  be  put  to  death,  and  if 
Jesus  toas  now  on  the  earth,  you 
would  put  him  to  death.' 

"'No,'  I  replied,  'We  are  his 
friends,  and  not  his  enemies'  The 
persecution  came  hotter  and  hotter. 
After  reading  Elder  Spender's  let- 
ters, the  captain  said  that  he  was  a 
liar,  for  he  condemned  everybody 
and  everything  but  his  own  order. 
I  told  the  captain  that  the  man, 
kingdom,  or  nation  that  fought 
against  the  Saints  of  Latter-days, 
should  go  backward  and  not  for- 
ward, should  sink  and  not  swim. 

"We  passed  Formosa  Island  two 
days  out  in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
leak  increased,  and  caused  alarm, 
and  we  turned  our  course  and 
stood  for  Amoy.  The  storm  came 
on  again,  accompanied  with  thun- 
der and  lightning,  the  clouds  gath- 
ered blackness,  the  elements  became 
furious,  and  the  seas  again  swept 
our  decks;  we  then  put  into  Hong 
Kong.  After  running  within  three 
days'  sail  of  Shanghai,  we  were 
driven  back  700  miles  to  the  very 
place  where  I  wanted  to  land  35 
days  before." 

Elder  Luddington  remained  in 
Hong  Kong  a  few  days,  recovering 
from  his  seasickness,  and  then 
started  looking  for  a  free  passage 
to  California.  In  mid-December  he 
was  able  to  sail  on  the  ship  Lucas, 
bound  for  San  Francisco. 

In  Rangoon,  Elder  Savage  con- 
tinued to  preach  the  gospel  until 
late  in  1855;  then  he  traveled  to 
Calcutta,  from  where  he  embarked 
for  Boston.  Elder  McCune  and  his 
family  remained  in  Rangoon  until 
1856,  when  he  was  discharged  from 
the  army.  All  of  these  missionaries, 
including  McCune,  later  lived  in 
the  Salt  Lake  Valley.  From  the  time 
the  McCunes  left  Rangoon  until 
only  recently,  the  Church  did  not 
have  an  officially  recognized  mis- 
sion in  Southeast  Asia.  O 


44    Era,   March  1970 


*W 


TO  BE  YOUNG  IN 


• 


•  High  in  the  rugged  and  snowcapped 
Andes  Mountains  and  at  the  base  of 
21,000-foot  Mt.  Illimani  lies  the  beauti- 
ful city  of  La  Paz,  Bolivia.  Founded 
in  a  natural  canyon  in  1548  by  the 
Spaniards,  who  wished  to  protect  them- 
selves from  the  icy  winds  that  sweep 
across  the  13,000-foot  altiplano,  or 
high  plain,  La  Paz  is  the  home  of  some 
150  young  Mormons. 

In  a  developing  country  such  as 
Bolivia,  where  progress  is  slow  and 
many  modern  conveniences  are  not  to 
be  found,  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints  plays  an  important 
role  in  the  lives  of  its  young  people. 
In  an  area  where  few  or  no  organized 
activities     are     generally     offered     to 


youth,  the  Church,  especially  through 
the  Mutual  Improvement  Associations, 
offers  the  youth  opportunities  to  grow 
and  develop  along  many  lines.  For 
some  of  the  youth,  these  activities 
offer  the  only  social  association  they 
have. 

The  MIA  programs  are  an  effective 
missionary  tool  for  the  youth  in  bring- 
ing the  gospel  to  their  peers.  The  de- 
sire of  the  young  Bolivian  members  to 
participate  and  develop  is  without 
equal.  Many  of  them  dedicate  most  of 
their  spare  time  to  the  Church  and  its 
growth,  and  most  of  each  Saturday's 
daylight  hours  are  spent  participating 
in  organized  tournaments  and  athletic 
contests. 


Speech  festivals,  road  shows,  special 
district  sporting  events  such  as  volley- 
ball and  baby  football  (a  soccer  game 
usually  played  on  a  basketball  court), 
and  the  general  activities  give  young 
members  and  nonmembers  the  oppor- 
tunity they  need  to  progress  and  better 
themselves,  both  spiritually  and  men 
tally. 

Dating  customs  in  Bolivia  for  the 
youth  of  the  Church  are  different  from 
those  in  many  other  countries.  Usually 
the  young  man  must  visit  the  home  of 
the  girl's  parents  to  ask  their  permis- 
sion for  a  date  with  their  daughter. 
Their  dates  may  include  attending 
such  events  as  movies,  soccer  matches, 
and    other    sporting    events;    trips    to 


■ 
■ 


:'■■,■:■■ 

.■■■■■ 


■fe 


46 


f   la    bI|||| 
^ae^  Ssd  s  I  I  if  m 

Lake  Titicaca,  the  highest  navigable 
lake  in  the  world,  or  to  Chacaltaya,  the 
highest  ski  resort  in  the  world;  or  pic- 
nics at  the  ancient  ruins  of  Tiahuanacu, 
which  date  back  to  the  pre-lnca  period. 
Another  date  is  a  group  party  called  a 
pena  Fo/k/or/'ca,  where  everyone  is  re- 
quired to  dress  in  typical  Bolivian  cos- 
tumes, and  typical  dances  and  folk 
music  are  presented. 

Many  of  the  members  date  non- 
members,  since  the  Church  membership 
is  rather  small.  This  gives  them  a 
chance  to  bring  the  gospel  into  the 
lives  of  friends  by  their  example.  En- 
tire families  have  been  brought  into 
the  Church  because  of  the  influence  of 
young  members. 


Most  Bolivian  youth  begin  attend- 
ing school  at  the  age  of  five  or  six  and 
continue  their  schooling  until  18  or 
19.  The  schools  are  government  con- 
trolled and  organized.  Many  schools 
offer  programs  to  people  in  the  rural 
areas,  where  some  of  the  better  stu- 
dents spend  days  in  the  campo,  or 
country,  teaching  their  fellow  Bolivians 
how  to  read  and  write  and  how  to 
better  their  present  living  conditions 
and  way  of  life.  This  program  attracts 
many  of  our  Mormon  youth  and  gives 
them  an  opportunity  to  serve  their 
fellow  Bolivians,  70  percent  of  whom 
are  still  illiterate. 

Education  in  Bolivia  is  free,  includ- 
ing the  universities;  and,   as  a  result, 


the  number  of  students  who  work  part- 
time  while  attending  school  is  very 
small. 

Most  of  the  youth  who  belong  to 
the  Church  in  Bolivia  have  a  very  im- 
portant role  in  the  Church's  growth  and 
development.  They  give  service  in  the 
auxiliary  organizations  and  missionary 
work.  They  hold  such  positions  as 
dance  directors,  branch  counselors, 
presidents,  superintendents,  and  coun- 
selors of  the  MIA  and  the  Primary,  or 
class  teachers. 

In  a  number  of  branches,  the  Pri- 
mary and  the  MIA  organizations  are 
made  up  of  young  members,  and  in 
Bolivia  we  are  blessed  with  some  of 
the  finest.  By  Dee  Talbot 


The  door  of  the  moon  with 
its  new,  modern-day  Incas. 
Left  to  right,  Virginia  Ausa, 
Ernesto  Caste/,  Soraida  Sainz, 
Monica  Barrios,  Elsa  Sainz, 
O/ga  Sainz,  Eduardo  Sanabria, 
and  Cecilia  Barrios.  On  top 
of  the  door  are  Nets  Quiroz, 
Hugo  Castel,  and  Ernesto  Sana- 
bria. 


Canoeing  on  the  highest  lake 
in  the  world  are  Eduardo 
Sanabria,  Virginia  Ausa,  Olga 
Sainz,  and  Ernesto  Sanabria. 

Gonzalo  Aliaga  is  asking  the 
parents  of  Christina  Vazquez 
for  permission  to  date  their 
daughter.  Young  Bolivian  men 
are  required  to  visit  the  girl's 
family  before  permission  is 
given  for  a  date. 


Olga  Sainz  and  Monica  Barrios 
visit  with  a  poor  altiplano 
farmer,  whom  they  are  teach- 
ing to  read.  In  the  background 
are  typical  Bolivian  adobe 
houses. 


Era,   March   1970    47 


LDc 


By  J.  Marvin  Higbee 

After  watching  a  man  being  beaten  nearly  to 
death,  a  bystander,  when  asked  why  he  didn't  do 
anything  to  stop  the  crime,  said,  "I  just  didn't 
want  to  get  involved.  They  might  have  turned  on 
Anyway,  it  wasn't  any  of  my  business.  That's 
why  we  have  the  cops  to  take  care  of  things  like 
this!" 

We  say,  "Isn't  that  terrible?  That  would  never 
happen  to  me!"  But  I  wonder  if,  in  another  way, 
we  too  are  uninvolved.  Some  reports  claim  only 
two  percent  of  the  students  on  college  campuses 
are  what  are  termed  "activists."  The  other  98 
percent  are  uninvolved  in  the  "activist"  move- 
ments.  What  are  they  doing? 

Some  become  involved  in  campus  affairs;  most 
don't.  Some  become  involved  in  civic  affairs; 
most  don't.  Generally  speaking,  the  other  98  per- 
cent are  doing  little.  They  are  not  involved. 
They  stand  by  and  watch  while  ideas,  institutions, 
and  people  are  destroyed,  and  decisions  that  affect 
them  are  made  without  the  benefit  of  their  think- 
ing. Many  Latter-day  Saint  college  and  university 
students  are  right  in  the  middle  of  the  uninvolved 
98  percent. 

Some  of  this  uninvolvement  on  the  part  of 
Latter-day  Saints  comes  because  of  fear,  mis- 
understanding, or  complacency,  or  because  they 
are  not  prepared  or  motivated  to  become  involved. 

The  Lord  never  intended  for  us  to  isolate  our- 
selves from  the  world.  In  John  17:15  he  very 
specifically  says,  "I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest 
take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest 
keep  them  from  the  evil."  He  seems  to  be  saying 
that  we  must  live  in  the  world  and  struggle  with 
the  problems  of  the  world,  but  not  become  "of  the 
world."  In  other  words,  we  need  to  be  involved 
in  the  world  and  help  with  the  solutions  to  the 
problems  of  the  world.  We  need  not  isolate  our- 
selves; rather,  we  should  insulate  against  their 
negative  influence.    The  Latter-day  Saint  college 


Something 


and  university  students  of  today  need  to  become 
involved.  In  this  day  more  than  ever,  the  people 
of  the  world  need  help.  They  need  to  know  the 
gospel  principles  not  only  in  word  but  also  in 
action.  I'm  not  suggesting  only  proselyting  or 
attempting  to  convert  people,  but  rather  extending 
ourselves,  and  through  us  the  gospel,  by  applying 
its  principles  through  involvement  in  campus, 
civic,  social,  and  political  affairs. 

There  may  be  those  of  us  who  fear  the  world's 
close  scrutiny  of  certain  doctrines  and  policies  of 
the  Church;  and  thus,  rather  than  becoming  in- 
volved and  attempting  to  answer  the  difficult 
questions,  we  isolate  ourselves.  This  fear  may  be 
understandable,  but  fear  should  never  be  a  basis 
for  lack  of  involvement.  In  Edna  St.  Vincent  Mil- 
lay's  "Aria  De  Capo,"  Corydon  said  to  Thyrsis, 
"One  of  us  needs  to  risk  ...  or  don't  you  see,  the 
game  will  go  on  forever."  We  can  never  hope  to 
explain  all  things  to  all  people,  but  we  can  apply 
the  principles  of  Christianity  in  our  relationships 
with  all  people. 

Here  are  some  suggestions  as  to  how  a  Latter- 
day  Saint  student  might  become  involved  in  cam- 
pus, civic,  social,  and  political  affairs  and  thus, 
through  the  way  he  conducts  himself,  extend  the 
gospel  to  many  who  would  otherwise  never  have 
been  aware  of  it. 

1.  Commit  yourself  to  becoming  involved. 

2.  Pick  out  one  issue  or  problem  you  see,  be- 
come informed,  and  then  do  something. 

3.  Write  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  your  school 
paper  when  you  don't  agree  with  what  is  happen- 
ing on  or  off  campus,  or  even  if  you  do  agree. 

4.  Become  aware  of  the  needs  of  those  in  the 
ghettos  and  in  the  educationally  and  socially  de- 
prived areas. 

5.  Become  involved  in  social  service  groups. 
Volunteer  to  help  in  any  way  you  can,  whether 
you  feel  qualified  or  not. 


6.  Prepare  yourself  for  positions  in  student 
government  and  organizations  on  campus  and 
then  seek  those  positions. 

7.  Become  involved  in  the  institute  of  religion, 
but  don't  isolate  yourself  behind  its  walls. 

8.  Develop  an  attitude  of  extending  yourself 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  Church  doors. 

9.  Let  your  voice  be  heard,  but  let  it  be  in 
gentleness  and  patience.  Someone  said,  "All  things 
come  to  him  who  prepares  himself  with  patience." 

10.  You  may  not  be  able  to  do  much,  but  you 
can  do  something,  so  do  it!  There  are  numerous 
other  things  that  can  be  done,  and  if  you  let  your 
imagination  run  and  listen  to  the  cries  of  mankind 
with  your  heart,  you  will  know  what  to  do. 

As  we  become  more  involved  with  ideas,  pro- 
grams, political  theories,  and  the  civil  rights  of 
mankind,  let's  consider  this  very  meaningful 
thought.  It  is  taken  from  The  Book  of  Tao,  which 
was  written  over  2,500  years  ago  by  the  ancient 
Chinese  philosopher,  Lao  Tzu.  He  wrote:  "When 
living,  man  is  supple  and  yielding;  when  dead, 
man  is  hard  and  stiff.  When  living,  all  animals 
and  plants  are  soft  and  pliant ;  when  dead,  they  are 
withered  and  brittle.  Thus,  being  inflexible  and 
unyielding  is  part  of  dying,  being  flexible  and 
yielding  is  a  part  of  living." 

The  essence  of  this  statement  is  "listen."  We 
need  to  be  sensitive  to  others'  points  of  view.  One 
of  the  great  dangers  of  "having  the  truth"  is  the 
tendency  not  to  search  for  further  truth  or  be 
willing  to  listen  to  others  as  they  explain  how  they 
see  it. 

Being  flexible  and  yielding  does  not  mean  to 
discard  standards  and  beliefs,  but  rather,  while 
holding  tightly  to  these  truths,  to  be  willing  to 
continue  the  search  by  being  sensitive  to  the  Lord, 
to  the  needs  of  mankind,  drawing  from  their  ex- 
periences, and  acting  upon  what  we  see  and  hear 
that  is  good.  o 


Era,  March   1970    49 


basket  b 


an 
interesting 

HERITAGE 

By  Joseph  S.  Wood 

YMMIA  General  Board. 
Athletic  Committee 


•  Monday,  March  9,  marks  the 
beginning  day  of  the  1970  five-day 
all-Church  basketball  tournament 
in  Salt  Lake  City.  Thirty-two  M-Men 
teams  will  be  competing  in  the 
senior  division,  while  32  Ensign 
teams  will  be  striving  for  cham- 
pionship in  the  junior  division.  This 
large  gathering  of  teams  will  rep- 
resent all  sections  of  the  United 
States  as  well  as  Alberta,  Canada. 

These  64  teams  survived  their 
stake  league  play  and  their  zone 
play-offs  in  order  to  reach  the 
coveted  all-Church  tournament. 
They  are  the  teams  remaining  out 
of  a  total  of  approximately  4,400 
that  began  stake  competitions  a 
few  weeks  ago.  Without  question, 
this  makes  the  Church's  basketball 
program  the  largest  organization 
of  basketball  competition  in  all 
the  world. 

How  did  this  program  get 
started?  Like  most  things  that  are 
large  and  expansive,  it  once  was 
a  struggling  and  tiny  beginner.  It 
was  far  back  in  1906  that  the  MIA 
leaders  of  Ensign  Stake  in  Salt 
Lake  City  began  to  talk  seriously 
of  adding  a  regular  athletic  activity 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Junior  De- 
partment of  the  Mutual  program. 
The  movement  was  particularly 
suited  to  the  20th  Ward  of  that 
stake,  where  the  president  of  the 
Junior  Department  gave  a  pen- 
nant for  the  winner  of  the  two 
basketball  teams  in  the  ward.  Each 
team  selected  its  own  officers,  and 
the  winning  of  the  pennant  was  to 


be  based  upon  points  for  MIA 
attendance  as  well  as  recruitment 
of  new  members.  The  teams  were 
named  Green  and  Purple,  and  a 
great  deal  of  interest  was  aroused 
by  this  new  experiment. 

By  the  spring  of  1908  all  of  the 
wards  in  the  Ensign  Stake  had 
teams  participating  in  a  stake 
basketball  league.  The  20th  Ward 
lost  only  one  game  of  the  first  11 
games  they  played.  On  April  15, 
1908,  before  300  spectators  in  the 
20th  Ward  annex,  that  ward  de- 
feated the  18th  Ward  team  by  a 
score  of  28  to  23  in  the  game  that 
decided  the  stake  championship. 

The  athletic  activity  continued 
to  grow  in  other  ward  MIAs  until 
1916,  when  the  suggestion  was 
made  in  a  general  board  meeting 
that  basketball  be  discontinued  be- 
cause athletics  were  being  adopted 
by  the  high  schools;  for  the  next 
six  years  basketball  was  not  a  part 
of  the  Mutual  activity  at  all. 

In  September  1921,  John  D. 
Giles,  who  was  at  that  time  super- 
intendent of  the  Ensign  Stake  MIA, 
called  together  the  stake  superin- 
tendents of  Granite,  Liberty,  Pio- 
neer, Salt  Lake,  and  Ensign  stakes 
to  discuss  the  possibilities  of  bas- 
ketball competition,  with  a  tourna- 
ment among  the  stake  champions 
to  be  held  the  following  spring.  He 
was  chairman  of  this  first  tourna- 
ment. 

At  approximately  this  same  time 
the  age  group  for  young  men  be- 
tween the  ages  of  17  and  23  be- 


came officially  known  as  M  Men. 
Immediately  following  the  1922 
tournament,  the  superintendents 
met  again  with  the  representatives 
of  the  M  Men  themselves,  and  it 
was  decided  to  continue  the  bas- 
ketball activity  but  to  organize  it 
on  a  more  definite  foundation,  giv- 
ing special  attention  to  eligibility 
and  officiating.  This  first  formal 
meeting  was  held  in  the  fall  of 
1922,  at  which  time  the  first  con- 
stitution of  the  M  Men  Basketball 
League  was  drawn  up. 

In  1929  the  MIA  general  board 
took  over  the  administration  and 
supervision  of  the  basketball  pro- 
gram. It  was  becoming  evident 
that  this  was  a  program  that  would 
spread  to  an  all-Church  basis,  be- 
cause it  was  an  activity  of  popular 
appeal  that  promoted  wholesome 
recreational  association  and  clean 
living  among  its  participants. 

From  1922  to  1970  the  basket- 
ball program  has  grown  steadily 
and  constantly — each  year  becom- 
ing larger  and  greater  than  in  the 
past.  There  has  been  a  steady 
parade  of  good  teams  and  fine 
young  men  striving  for  a  coveted 
championship — the  all-Church. 
One  thing  is  certain:  March  9, 
1970,  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
greatest  all-Church  tournament 
ever  held. 

But  it  is  also  rather  certain 
that  its  success  will  be  surpassed 
a  year  later.  That  seems  to  be 
the  way  the  all-Church  tourna- 
ment operates.  o 


Pi 


Era,   March   1970    51 


•  Almost  everyone  who  has  ever 
driven  a  car  has  experienced  that 
hopeless,  helpless  feeling  of  wheel- 
spinning  on  ice  or  in  thick,  gooey 
mud.  That  bogged-down  feeling — 
who  needs  it? 

A  sense  of  getting  somewhere 
is  so  important  to  Latter-day  Saints 
that  it  is  easy  to  see  why  a  wise 
God  made  it  necessary  for  us  all 
to  keep  busy.  Many  people  think 
God  cursed  Adam  when  he  intro- 
duced hard  work  into  the  life  of 
man  (and  sometimes  the  things 
we  have  to  do  are  a  bit  of  a  drag), 
but  would  it  be  much  fun  to  go 
through  life  spinning  our  wheels 
and  really  not  getting  anywhere? 

Somehow,  when  you  know  that 
the  world  has  an  eternal  purpose 
behind  it,  the  challenge  and  ex- 
citement of  accomplishing  some- 
thing each  day  toward  fulfilling 
that  purpose  becomes  one  of  the 
central  aspects  of  life.  One  of  our 
beloved  Church  leaders,  President 
Stephen  L  Richards,  put  it  this 
way: 

"Work  with  faith  is  a  cardinal 
point  of  our  theological  doctrine, 
and  our  future  state — our  heaven 
— is  envisioned  in  terms  of  eternal 
progression  through  constant  la- 
bor." (Where  is  Wisdom?  [Deseret 
Book  Company,  1955],  p.  253.) 

In  a  day  when  a  lot  of  new  slo- 
gans have  taken  over,  we  hear 
much  about  the  need  for  people 
to  "do  their  own  thing."  There 
are  lots  of  things  to  do — and  they 
don't  need  to  be  unpleasant,  far- 
out  things  that  can  border  on  the 
illegal  or  the  immoral.  The  world 
cries  out  with  things  that  need  to 
be  done.  Even  if  you  have  a  job, 
don't  overlook  the  many  bound- 
less opportunities  to  help  someone 
else — with  or  without  pay  for  your 
work. 

"The  world  has  need  of  willing 
men,"  according  to  an  old  church 
song.  Those  words  are  just  as  true 


today    as    when    they    were    first 
written. 

Following  are  six  volunteer  jobs 
that  would  be  helpful,  character 
building,  and  just  plain  fun.  You 
know  many  more. 

1.  Somewhere  along  the  line 
perhaps  you've  acquired  skill  in  a 
foreign  language — in  the  home,  in 
the  mission  field,  during  a  travel- 
study  tour,  at  school.  Why  not 
make  yourself  available  to  the  lan- 
guage teacher  at  your  former 
school  as  a  "resource  person"? 
You  could  drill  the  slower  students, 
bounce  questions  around,  hold 
conversations  with  them,  or  other- 
wise show  that  foreign  languages 
are  possible — and  fun — to  learn. 

2.  There's  not  a  hospital  any- 
where that  can't  make  good  use  of 
a  pair  of  willing  hands.  Scrub  up 
your  own,  and  let  some  overworked 
nurse  or  administrator  know  that 
you'd  like  to  spend  a  few  hours 
each  week  helping  out. 

3.  Let's  assume  that  you  en- 
joy plays  and  concerts  and  that 
you  know  how  to  write.  Even  news- 
papermen can't  be  in  more  than 
one  place  at  a  time.  Many  an  editor 
would  like  to  send  you  out  to  cover 
a  cultural  event  when  his  own 
staffers  are  tied  up  with  other 
stories. 

4.  Almost  every  city  or  town 
has  its  share  of  underprivileged 
children  or  teen-agers — the  poor, 
the  handicapped,  those  who've 
made  a  mistake  or  who  need  a 
helping  hand.  If  you  can  guide 
even  one  of  these  to  find  the 
handle  of  his  bootstraps,  you  may 
share  his  thrill  if  he's  able  to  pull 
himself  up. 

5.  Almost  every  Mormon  youth 
does  something  well  or  has  a  talent 
that  sets  him  or  her  apart  from 
the  crowd.  It's  almost  just  as  cer- 
tain that  someone — sometime — 
recognized  this  gift  and  helped 
develop   it.    There's  no   law  that 


52 


says  you  can't  search  out  someone 
else  with  a  similar  gift  and  encour- 
age that  person.  Teaching  is  shar- 
ing. Sometimes  the  recognition  of 
talent  is  all  the  nourishment  that 
talent  may  need  to  help  it  blossom 
into  something  wonderful. 

6.  Humanitarianism — like  God 
— is  not  dead.  Even  in  the  most 
affluent  neighborhood  there  is 
likely  to  be  an  elderly  or  infirm 
person  who  needs  some  help  with 
the  many  little  things  it  takes  to 
keep  a  house  running  smoothly. 
Leaves  you've  raked  for  free  will 
crunch  musically  underfoot;  snow 
you've  shoveled  just  because  you 
wanted  to  will  shine  a  little  whiter; 
trash  you've  voluntarily  carried  out 
might  not  even  look  like  trash  at 
all.  Or  you  could  mend  a  fence, 
fix  a  broken  pane  of  glass,  install 
a  light  switch,  or  do  a  hundred  and 
one  things  that  would  not  take 
long  but  could  mean  much. 

If  you  look  back  over  this  begin- 
ning list,  you'll  find  that  some  of 
these  little  jobs  could  even  lead 
to  exciting  careers. 

Obviously,  some  things  you'd 
like  to  do  might  take  more  than 
just  one  pair  of  willing  hands.  Vol- 
unteer for  a  few  friends,  too.  If, 
like  a  lot  of  people,  you're  sitting 
around  wondering  what  to  do  (just 
letting  those  old  energy  wheels 
spin,  as  it  were),  why  not  conjure 
up  a  work  party  where  it  will  do 
the  most  good?  The  resultant 
shock  may  shake  both  you  and  the 
neighbor  served,  but  chances  are 
you  will  all  survive  the  blow. 

The  earth  spins  because  it  has 
some  place  to  go  in  God's  scheme 
of  things.  Some  of  us  spin  in  vain 
because  we  don't  have  a  place  to 
go.  A  loosely  spinning  wheel 
starts  to  function  as  soon  as  it 
grabs  hold  of  something  solid.  If 
some  honest  "sweat  of  the  face" 
will  start  you  on  your  way,  get  with 
it.  Stop  spinning  your  wheels!      o 


.1" 

:. 

M,y-  v    <X 


7 


f 


\ 


i 


"V 


■ 


A  Girl  Is  Like 
a  Fawn 


By  Dennis  H.  Drake 


Spring-young,  a  girl  is  like  a  fawn 

In  danger  situations: 

Half -frightened,  half -curious, 

At  once  attracted  and  repelled. 

An  instinct  older  than  age  warrants 

Will  warn  youth — 

To  bound  away  brief  and  sure 

Permits  ripeness,  beauty,  life. 

But  mute  indulgence  invites  a  dulling  sting 

That  is  ending,  not  beginning,  as  evening  to  dawn. 

A  gentle  doe  is  never  born;  she  grows  from  a  fawn. 


r   ■■ 


\ 


Ik 


Parent 

By  Margot  Van  Orman 

How  could 

we  thank  you 

for  the 

time 

and 

patience, 

until  our 

time  was  consumed 

and  our 

patience 

sorely 

tried  ? 

How  could 

we  express  our 

joy  in 

growing 

and 

progressing, 

ivithout  our 

expansion  in  precept 

and  progression 

step 

by 

step  ? 

How  could 

we  repay  your 

sacrifice  in 

giving 

us 

life, 

except  by 

our  making  life 

as  you 

selflessly 

made 

us? 

Noiv  we 

can  thank  you. 


Thank  You. 


54 


DOWNEY,  CALIFORNIA  .  .  .  Troop  307 
has  just  celebrated  a  first — six  boys 
attaining  the  Eagle  rank  at  the  same 
time.  U.S.  Congressman  Del  Clawson 
presented  the  awards  to  the  boys.  Be- 
sides being  fine  Scouts,  they  are 
good  money-raisers.  They  recently 
staged  a  very  successful  waffle  dinner 


and  auction,  and  with  the  funds  raised 
they  bought  much-needed  camp  equip- 
ment. Pictured  are:  top  row,  Scout- 
masters Ed  Robinson  and  Dr.  G.  Arnold 
Davis;  second  row,  Steven  Davis,  Jeffrey 
Taylor,  and  Mark  Robinson;  front  row, 
Brian  Chapman,  Bruce  Chapman,  and 
John  Boyle. 


DELTA,  UTAH  .  .  .  This  is  a  realization 
of  a  dream  come  true.  Almost  ten  years 
ago  Brother  Cecil  Losee  was  asked  to 
be  Scoutmaster  of  Troop  141,  Delta 
Second  Ward,  Deseret  (Utah)  Stake.  At 
that  time  his  oldest  son,  Gary,  was  just 
entering  the  Boy  Scouts.  Brother 
Losee's  enthusiasm  for  this  assignment 
was  overwhelming:  he  loved  the  Scout 
program,  he  enjoyed  camping  and 
working  with  young  boys,  and  he  wanted 
to  see  all  of  his  sons  attain  the  dis- 
tinguished rank  of  Eagle  Scout. 

The  five  Eagle  Scouts  are:  Gary,  22, 
who  has  filled  a  mission  in  the  East 
Central  States;  Paul,  21,  who  has  filled 
a  mission  in  the  British  South  Mission; 
Mark,  18,  who  is  anxiously  looking  for- 
ward to  his  mission  call;  Blair,  16,  and 


Floyd,  14.  The  older  boys  have  also 
received  their  Duty  to  God  awards. 
Gary,  Paul,  and  Mark,  who  are  now 
attending  college,  live  together  in  a 
small  trailer  house.  They  are  active  in 
their  college  wards,  and  Paul  is  a  stake 
missionary. 

Brother  Losee's  scouting  assignment 
came  to  an  end  last  September  with  the 
call  to  serve  as  first  counselor  in  the 
bishopric.  In  a  court  of  honor  in  Novem- 
ber, the  boys'  mother,  Ava  Bishop 
Losee,  was  presented  a  special  eagle 
necklace  with  five  eagles  on  it.  The 
Losee  family  also  includes  three  small 
daughters,  Celia,  Nancy,  and  Ranae. 

In  the  photograph  are,  back  row, 
Blair,  Gary,  Paul,  Floyd;  front,  Mark, 
Cecil   Losee. 


co  know 


BOUNTIFUL,  UTAH  .  .  .  There  are  ten 
Eagle  Scouts  this  year  in  Troop  263  in 
Bountiful  30th  Ward.  Eight  of  them  re- 
ceived the  award  during  one  court  of 
honor  this  year.  Pictured  are:  front  row, 
left  to  right,  Dean  Larson,  Russell  Park- 


er, Lynn  Roe,  Jeff  Hatch;  second  row, 
Brad  Barnett,  Brad  Jones,  Kent  Stanger, 
Kurt  Stevenson,  Gaylen  Brown,  and 
Richard  Cannon;  back  row,  Scoutmas- 
ters Cloyd  Brown,  Garn  Nelson,  and 
Robert  Wilson. 


(Though  we  can't  make  a  practice  of 
printing  pictures  like  these  tor  the 
whole  Church,  they  seemed  especially 
worthy  of  mention  at  this  time.- — The 
Editors) 


FT.  LAUDERDALE,  FLORIDA  .  .  .  This 
ward's  basketball  team  has  won  the 
regional  meets  in  the  women's  divisions 
for  four  straight  years  in  a  row.    They 


have  won  the  coveted  stake  sportsman- 
ship trophy  twice  and  the  regional 
sportsmanship  trophy  three  times.  Left 
to   right,  top  row,    Kathy   Black,   Peggy 


Cooper,  captain,  Erni  Hamel,  Sue  Win- 
ston, and  Carolyn  Robbins;  front,  Carol 
Haynes,  Carolyn  Barnes,  Diane  Under- 
bill, Debra  Strelow,  Wanda  Mears. 


Era,   March   1970    55 


TEST  YOUR 


You  claim  to  be  internationally  minded. 
You  are  proud  of  your  interest  in  the  world. 
You  admit  to  having  cosmopolitan  tastes,  of 
being  well  traveled.  You  boast  of  friends 
all  over  the  globe.  Great !  But  can  you  name 
the  nationalities  of  the  youths  pictured 
here,  or  can  you  identify  the  locales? 


Answers  to:    "Test   Your   Internationally!" 

aouajajuoa  muof.  o)  saie8a|aa      :eoujv  M?nos  ■£! 

pafOjd    3JBJ|9M 

joj  dnjAs  8|dew  joj  3u{||up  ,,jaddBS,,  v     :pue|3u3  mbn  "gi 

pasap  aip,  uo  ^88nq  auna      :SBxai  n 

jaump  poomsauj      :ueder  oi 

a^aadBj  u|  jauunj  Xejay      MJiqei  '6 

Ae|d  vilM      :P"E|U!d  8 
japjoq 

ueoixaiAi  jeau  aouaja^uoo  mno^     :b]ujoj!|bo  'ogaia  ubs  L 

apejed  Ajemud  am  Buipsai  joIbiu  ainja     :u.Bin  '3|aooi  9 

HZBjg 

m    isajqjno/;    ui    sjuejsajuoD    /Bj3or     ibduouiv    mnos  g 

aouajajuoo  L|}nort  jb  aiue8  ||eqAa||o/\     :bbjo>|  -^ 

jsuno} 

^B|d    BmBAiAsuuad  uiojj  suoujjo/j     "O'a   'uo}8u!1|sbm  £ 

isajoj   wbuSuihon   pauisj  s.poon  Ujqoy      :puB|3u3  'Z 

s;a| 

q}!«  pa}B|n}ejSuoo  Huiaq  jajsis  pazijdsq  A|Mafy|      :mbmbh  'I 


56 


\ 


Era,   March   1970    57 


•  Flashing  sticks  battle  for  the 
white  rubber  ball.  The  shorts  and 
lightweight  shoes  tell  you  this  is 
a  game  of  speed,  but  the  helmets 
and  the  padding  on  the  arms  and 
the  thick  gloves  tell  you  that  this 
is  a  rough  game,  too.  The  fast- 
moving,  hard-driving  game  of  la- 
crosse has  captured  the  Novato 
(California)  Ward. 

Lacrosse,  sometimes  called  dry- 
land hockey,  is  possibly  the  oldest 
sport  in  America.  It  was  being 
played  by  the  Indians  of  north- 
eastern United  States  and  Canada 
at  the  time  of  the  early  French 
exploration  of  North  America.  It  is 
a  hard-contested  game  in  which 
emotions  are  easily  aroused.  Con- 
stant movement  of  players  in 
quickly  changing  offensive  and 
defensive  patterns  creates  many 
opportunities  for  individual  per- 
formances. It  is  a  game  in  which 
the  little  man  is  pitted  against  the 
big  man.  Skillful  stick-handling, 
speed,  and  determination  make  up 
for  the  lack  of  size  and  strength. 
While  lacrosse  requires  less  brawn 
than  a  sport  such  as  football,  it 
does  demand  quickness  and  the 
desire  for  personal  combat  that 
the  American  Indians  brought  to 
it.  The  Cherokees,  in  fact,  called  it 
"the  little  brother  of  war." 

One  day  last  year,  the  ward 
YMMIA  superintendent,  Harold 
Gingrich,  was  telling  one  of  the 
ward's  stake  missionaries,  Richard 
Brown,  about  the  need  for  activity 
that  would  keep  the  interest  of  the 


boys  in  the  Explorer  and  Ensign 
groups.  Dick  is  a  member  of  the 
Marin  County  Lacrosse  Club,  which 
plays  in  the  Northern  California 
Lacrosse  League,  and  is  also  a 
qualified  referee.  In  conference 
with  the  bishop,  Dick  met  with  the 
priests  and  teachers  to  explain  the 
game  and  see  if  there  was  interest 
in  forming  a  team.  Almost  all  the 
members  of  the  priests  quorum 
were  interested,  even  though  they 
had  never  seen  the  game.  The 
Northern  California  Lacrosse  Asso- 
ciation donated  sticks  and  loaned 
helmets,  gloves,  arm  pads,  and 
jerseys  needed  to  get  the  team 
started. 

The  turnout  for  the  first  practice 
sessions  was  more  than  encourag- 
ing. The  enthusiasm  for  the  new 
game  spread  and  five  nonmember 
boys  joined  the  eleven  ward  mem- 
bers on  the  team. 

Since  this  is  a  junior  league 
team,  they  use  one  goalie  and  five 
other  players  on  a  smaller  field 
than  varsity  teams,  which  use  ten 
players.  The  game  is  fast,  with 
players  continually  on  the  run, 
and  because  of  the  vigorous  nature 
of  the  game,  players  are  rotated 
in  platoons  frequently,  giving  all 
the  boys  a  chance  to  play.  The 
slightly  rough  body  contact  and  the 
flashing,  whacking  sticks  may 
cause  a  few  bruises,  but  injuries 
are  minor.  The  boys  love  it!  Skill, 
strength,  speed,  and  endurance  all 
contribute  to  good,  exciting  la- 
crosse, o 


58    Era,   March   1970 


Advertisement 


ENOUGH  ROPE 

by  Arthur  V  Watkins 

The  inside  story  of  the  censure 
of  Senator  Joseph  R.  McCarthy  by  his  colleagues. 


On  August  12,  1954,  the 
United  States  Senate  authorized 
a  Select  Committee  to  study 
the  charge  against  Joseph  R. 
McCarthy  of  "conduct 
unbecoming  a  member  of  the 
Senate."  Arthur  V.  Watkins, 
the  Senator  from  Utah,  was 
named  Chairman  by  Vice 
President  Richard  Nixon  and 
immediately  announced  his 
plan  to  conduct  a  "judicial 
hearing''  in  a  "judicial 

atmosphere." 
Now,  from  the  perspective  of 

fifteen  years  after  the 

controversial  hearings  that 

signalled  the  end  of  a  turbulent 

career  and  a  fearsome  era  in 

American  public  life,  Senator 

Watkins  has  written  this 

inside  story. 

The  great  source  of  Senator  Watkins' 

strength  in  standing  up  to  the  pressures  of 

that  time  lay  in  the  staunch  religious 

faith  he  has  always  had.  This  is  a  story  of 

inspiration  for  all  Americans,  but 

it  is  a  special  message  of  courage  and  dedication 


President  Eisenhower,  Senator 
President  McKay 
1952 


Watkins, 


Dear  Senator  Watkins: 

Now  that  your  victory  is  won,  permit 
me  to  extend  to  you  many  hearty 
congratulations  and  high  commendation 
for  your  clarity,  sound  judgment, 
and  true  dignity  manifested  throughout 
the  entire  hearing  and  the  final 
disposition  of  this  most  difficult  case. 
You  have  won  merited  honor 
to  yourself,  retained  the  prestige  of  the 
Senate,  and  brought  credit  to 
your  state  and  to  the  nation. 
May  health  and  the  blessings 
of  the  Lord  continue  to  attend  you. 

Cordially  and  sincerely 
your  friend  and  brother, 

David  0.  McKay 

December  11,  1954 


to  duty  for  members  of  the 
Church.  The  University  of  Utah  Press  is  pleased 
to  offer  the  book  to  ERA  readers,  for  this  one 
time  only,  for  $6.00  including  postage. 
This  special  price  will  be  given  only  when  the 
attached  coupon  is  used  or  when  reference      p— -— __ 
to  this  ad  is  made  in  your  order.  /  Vl\jnttntw 


From  the  national  reviews: 


"...  it  is  a  revealing  portrait  of  a  genteel  con- 
servative reacting  with  fortitude  and  sustained 
by  prayer  in  his  attempts  to  deal  with  the  row- 
dy tactics  of  America's  most  accomplished  anti- 
communist."  r,  „      ,      n 

Saturday  Review 

"Two  things  are  notable  in  Watkins'  book. 
First,  his  absolute  honesty;  second,  his  dispas- 
sionate manner  of  presenting  facts. 

Salt  Lake  Tribune 

"For  a  time  in  the  early  and  mid-50's . .  .  Sen. 
Joseph  McCarthy  threatened  to  disrupt  the 
process  of  government  and  paralyze  the  United 
States  Senate. 

Then,  after  years  of  pandemonium  and  al- 
most despair  on  the  part  of  his  hapless  victims, 
the  seemingly  irrepressible  gladiator  in  the 
phony  war  against  Communism  was  toppled 
from  his  perch.  The  feat  was  accomplished  by 
an  unassuming  legislator  with  an  unsuspected 


streak  of  iron  in  his  constitution  .  .  .  That  soft- 
spoken  Senator,  Arthur  V.  Watkins  of  Utah, 
now  tells  the  story  of  his  strange  confrontation 
with  the  Communist-eating  dragon  in  the  vol- 
ume here  under  review.  .  .  . 

With  Watkins  in  firm  control,  the  [Select 
Committee  of  the  Senate]  moved  on  to  finish 
its  hearings  in  a  judicial  atmosphere,  to  shape 
the  censure  charges  and  to  win  a  resounding 
vote  on  the  floor  which  soon  put  an  end  to 
McCarthyism. 

It  is  a  dramatic  story  of  an  unforgettable 
chapter  in  our  history.  .  .  .'" 

The  Washington  Post 

"Hopefully,  the  book's  express  and  implicit 
lessons  will  be  perceived.  Certainly  the  nation 
has  historically  been  preserved  by  men  who 
confront  crisis  with  quiet  strength  and  dignity. 
Arthur  V.  Watkins  was  such  a  man  in  his  day. 
We  have  need  of  such  men  again  today. 

Sunday-Telegram,  Portland,  Maine 


University  of 

Utah  Press 

Salt  Lake  Citv,  Utah 

84112 

Please  send  me copies  of  Senator 

Watkins'  book  "Enough  Rope"  at  $6.00  per 

copy  (including  postage).  I  enclose  $ 

in  full  payment. 


NAME 
ADDRESS 

CITY 


STATE 


ZIP 


(Utah  residents  please  add  4Vfh sales  tax.) 


Genealogy 


Genealogical  Research  In 

ASIA 


•  What  kind  of  source  materials 
available  in  Asian  countries  can  be 
used  for  genealogical  research? 
What  kinds  of  information  do  they 
give?  How  early  can  a  pedigree 
be  successfully  traced  by  using 
these  materials?  These  are  ques- 
tions that  are  asked  by  the  curious 
as  well  as  the  sincere  genealogist, 
especially  those  who  have  heard 
whispers  of  the  clan-oriented  so- 
ciety that  exists  in  China  and 
Korea  today  and  that  existed  in 
Japan  until  the  Meiji  Restoration. 

To  the  Asian  the  word  "family" 
has  a  little  different  definition  than 
to  Westerners.  For  the  lack  of  a 
better  word,  we  might  call  the 
Asian  family  a  clan,  comprising  all 
of  the  descendants  of  a  certain 
progenitor.  Thus,  many  genealogi- 
cal records  have  originated  from 
this  type  of  family  system.  The  clan 
genealogies  that  were  maintained 
in  similar  format  in  both  China  and 
Korea  are  the  result  of  a  specifically 
appointed  compilation  committee. 
This  committee,  sponsored  by  the 
clan  organization,  gathered  and 
published  the  vital  information  of 
descendants  of  a  common  ancestor. 

One  good  example  is  the  gene- 
alogy of  the  descendants  of  the 
Chinese     philosopher      Confucius, 


By  John  W.  Orton 

who  lived  during  the  fifth  century 
B.C.  A  reprint  of  the  1682  edition 
of  this  genealogy,  owned  by  Kung 
Te  Cheng,  a  direct  descendant  of 
Confucius,  was  recently  completed 
by  the  National  Central  Library  of 
the  Republic  of  China,  and  a  copy 
of  this  three-volume  set,  which 
contains  an  uninterrupted  lineage  of 
2,500  years,  was  presented  to  the 
Genealogical  Society  by  Peter 
Chang  during  the  recent  World 
Conference  on  Records.  Clan 
genealogies  are  also  available  for 
Vietnam,  Ryukyu  Islands,  Mon- 
golia, and  Manchuria. 

In  the  absence  of  the  clan  gene- 
alogy or  the  associated  clan  records, 
another  genealogical  source  for 
China  that  has  been  collected  wide- 
ly by  Western  libraries  is  the  local 
history,  or  fang-chih.  Similar  in 
content  to  the  county  histories  so 
popular  in  the  United  States  during 
the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  local  history  usually 
includes  a  section  on  residents  of 
the  locality,  with  additional  data 
on  influential  families  and  those 
who  have  more  illustrious  ancestors. 


The  most  frequently  used  source 
by  the  Japanese  Saints  in  compiling 
their  family  group  sheets  is  the 
koseki.  The  present  civil  registra- 
tion system,  which  dates  from  1871, 
is  an  outgrowth  of  an  earlier  sys- 
tem, which  is  known  to  date  from 
646  a.d.  and  alleged  to  date  from 
86  b.c.  Rather  than  a  civil  registra- 
tion, the  koseki  is  a  household 
registration  that  might  be  compared 
to  a  combination  of  a  United  States 
census  and  vital  statistics  registra- 
tion. The  one  exception  is  that  the 
koseki  may  include  up  to  three 
generations  in  one  household  regis- 
tration. Japan  is  responsible  for 
establishing  a  population  registra- 
tion in  Korea  and  Taiwan,  over 
which  it  became  protectorate  dur- 
ing its  expansion  period. 

The  most  frequently  used  source 
in  Japan  is  the  family  genealogy, 
or  kafu,  compiled  by  the  family 
elder  or  the  eldest  son.  These 
genealogies  are  compiled  from 
documents  that  are  drawn  up  at 
the  close  of  each  family  celebration, 
such  as  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths.    This  source  is  still  widely 


John  W.  Orton,  Genealogical  Society  research  specialist  for  East  Asia,  travels 
annually  to  East  Asian  countries  and  consults  widely  with  experts  in  his 
assignment  to  increase  genealogical  source  material  for  the  Church. 


60 


maintained  among  traditional  fam- 
ilies. 

During  the  period  from  1603  to 
1868,  Japan  was  ruled  by  the 
Tokugawa  military  government. 
The  shumon  aratame  cho  (exam- 
ination of  religion  register )  and  the 
goningumi  cho  ( five  men  in  a  group 
register)  are  the  most  commonly 
used  genealogical  sources  dating 
from  this  period. 

Christianity  flourished  at  its  in- 
troduction into  Japan  during  the 
sixteenth  century,  mainly  because  it 
received  the  support  of  Oda  No- 
bunaga,  the  feudal  lord  who  began 
a  reunification  movement  in  Japan 
and  who  feared  that  the  power 
being  attained  by  the  Buddhist 
sects  might  be  a  threat  to  his  own 
feudal  rule.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  as  many  as  500,000  Japanese 
became  baptized  Christians  during 
this  period.  Shortly  after  Toyotomi 
Hideyoshi  came  into  power,  he 
placed  a  ban  on  Christianity,  since 
he  suspected  that  Christian  mis- 
sionaries would  be  forerunners  of 
colonial  conquest,  as  had  happened 
in  other  parts  of  Asia.  The  Toku- 
gawa shoguns  increased  the  perse- 
cution of  the  Christians  and,  as  a 
method  of  control,  instituted  the 
shumon  aratame  cho.  Aside  from 
avowing  that  an  individual  was  a 
devout  Buddhist  and  listing  the 
sect,  name,  and  location  of  his 
temple,  the  register  usually  in- 
cluded the  following  genealogical 
items:  name,  age,  sex,  and  resi- 
dence for  each  member  of  the  fam- 
ily unit. 

The  goningumi  cho  was  probably 
patterned  after  a  similar  registra- 
tion in  China.  In  principle,  the 
registration  law  made  five  men 
equally  responsible  for  the  acts  of 
one  of  their  group.  Because  this 
was  the  basic  unit  for  controlling 
religion,  this  register  had  a  close 
connection  with  the  shumon  ara- 
tame cho.  However,  in  addition  it 
had  the  function  of  communicating 


Era,  March  1970    61 


Listener's  Digest  presents  — 


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sponsibility for  the  payment  of  tax. 

The  compilation  of  genealogical 
records  is  not  new  to  the  Japanese. 
The  earliest  effort  to  compile  an 
authoritative  genealogical  record  of 
clans  that  is  still  extant  was  com- 
pleted in  815  and  was  entitled 
Shinsen  Shojiroku  (New  Record 
of  the  Clans).  This  30- volume  set 
included  a  record  of  1,182  clans. 
Although  not  in  its  original  form, 
the  Kojiki  (Record  of  Ancient 
Matters),  completed  in  712,  is  a 
compilation  of  the  genealogy  of  the 
Imperial  family.  In  these  early 
works,  reference  is  made  to  Teiki, 
Kyuji,  Tennoki,  and  Kokki,  earlier 
genealogical  compilations  that  are 
no  longer  extant. 

Korea,  influenced  heavily  by 
Chinese  culture  during  the  earlier 
period,  has  retained,  perhaps  to  a 
stricter  degree  than  China  itself, 
the  custom  of  maintaining  the  tra- 
ditional records.  In  addition  to  clan 
genealogies  and  local  histories,  the 
civil  service  examination  rosters, 
maintained  from  the  beginning  of 
the  Yi  dynasty  (1392)  until  they 
were  abolished  in  1894,  are  an  ex- 
cellent source  for  those  who  hold  a 
government  or  military  position. 
These  rosters  may  include  such  in- 
formation as  name,  birth  date,  clan 
seat  and  place  of  residence,  names 
of  brothers,  and  up  to  eight  gen- 
erations of  one's  paternal  line  and 
his  mother's  paternal  line. 

Ho-juk  is  a  triennual  census  that 
was  also  enumerated  during  the  Yi 
dynasty.  In  type  of  information 
given,  ho-fuk  may  be  compared  to 
an  English  census  record,  giving 
age  and  place  of  birth  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  household;  but  in  addi- 
tion ho-fuk  lists  three  paternal 
generations  plus  the  mother's 
father  for  each  member  of  the 
household,  including  slaves. 

The  Philippine  Islands  were  dis- 

62 


covered  by  the  Spanish  in  1521. 
with  the  first  successful  settlement 
dating  from  1565.  Fortunately  for 
the  genealogist,  the  Code  of  the 
Canon  Law  requires  that  every 
Roman  Catholic  parish  maintain 
the  records  of  status  animarum 
according  to  a  standard  form,  in- 
cluding the  registers  of  baptism, 
marriage,  and  death.  The  earliest 
registers  in  the  Philippines  date 
from  1572.  The  Dominican  mission- 
aries who  entered  the  Philippines 
in  1587  are  the  only  order  of  the 
five  missionary  orders  that  labored 
in  the  Philippines  to  have  main- 
tained their  records  there.  These 
will  be  found  in  the  Dominican 
Archives  of  the  University  of  Santo 
Tomas. 

The  Philippines  is  one  of  the 
very  few  countries  in  Asia  that 
can  boast  a  national  archives.  It 
maintains  records  from  both  the 
Spanish  and  the  American  periods. 
A  recent  discovery  is  eleven  and  a 
half  million  documents  dating  from 
the  Spanish  period.  As  a  result  of 
the  Spanish  American  War,  the 
Philippines  came  under  the  control 
of  the  United  States  in  1898.  The 
first  official  census  of  1903  and  sub- 
sequent enumerations  have  since 
been  sold  for  wastepaper,  but  a 
civil  registration  law  was  enacted 
in  1900,  and  some  registers  of 
births,  marriages,  and  deaths  will 
be  found  in  local  registry  offices. 

Something  should  also  be  said 
concerning  memorized  genealogies 
that  are  still  extant,  at  least  among 
the  Bontoc  and  Ifugao  tribes  of  the 
Mountain  Province.  The  custom  of 
memorizing  genealogies  apparently 
once  flourished  through  most  of 
Asia  among  traditional  societies. 
Usually  a  specific  person  was  ap- 
pointed to  memorize  the  genealogy 
of  the  family.  The  Philippines  may 
be  one  of  the  few  remaining  coun- 
tries with  a  segment  of  its  society 
still  able  to  recite  genealogies  in 
oral  form. 


The  Asian  people  seem  to  have  a 
natural  understanding  and  appre- 
ciation of  the  relationship  between 
an  individual  and  his  ancestors. 
Members  of  the  Church  in  Asia  are 
utilizing  this  expanse  of  records  to 
identify  their  ancestors,  and  under 
great  financial  sacrifice  they  are 
making  plans  to  go  to  the  temples 
to  have  the  temple  ordinances  per- 
formed for  their  families.   To  assist 


the  Saints  in  reaching  this  goal,  the 
missions  in  Asia  are  organizing 
temple  excursions.  Three  very 
successful  excursions  from  Japan  to 
the  Hawaii  Temple  have  already 
been  completed,  with  a  fourth 
planned  for  August  in  conjunction 
with  the  Korean  Mission,  and  a 
fifth  excursion,  to  the  Salt  Lake 
Temple,  is  planned  to  correspond 
with  October  general  conference. 


"The 
Spoken  Word 


"The  Spoken  Word"  from  Tem- 
ple Square,  presented  over  KSL 
and  the  Columbia.  Broadcasting 
System  December  7,  1969.©  1969. 


// 


"There  are  two  who  will  know  . 

By  Richard  L.  Evans 

Wf  hen  I  left  my  home  to  go  away  to  school/'  said  a  thoughtful 
son,"my  father  said  to  me:  'No  matter  what  you  think  or  what 
you  do,  there  are  two  who  will  know— you  and  the  Father  of 
us  all.'"  This  may  not  have  a  very  modern  sound,  but  it  answers  some 
questions.  Even  if  all  the  world  doesn't  know,  even  if  our  family  and 
friends  don't  know,  there  are  still  two  who  know.  And  even  if  there 
were  only  one — even  for  those  who  don't  acknowledge  an  eternal 
record,  a  living  God  and  personal  relationship  to  him,  still—/  know— 
you  know — each  man  knows  that  which  concerns  himself.  Now,  as  to 
the  questions,  or  one  of  them  at  least:  With  people  breaking  the  com- 
mandments, or  not  acknowledging  them:  departing  from  honesty, 
virtue,  morality;  setting  aside  time-honored  standards  and  restraints; 
doing  just  what  they  want  to  do,  supposedly— or  at  least  doing  as  they 
profess  to  please — well,  if  they  are  living  just  like  they  want  to  live, 
why  aren't  they  happy?  Why  are  they  still  arguing  with  themselves  in- 
side—and with  others— uneasy,  feeling  cheated,  unsatisfied,  with  a 
gnawing  accusation  within?  Elbert  Hubbard  gave  one  answer  when  he 
said,  "Men  are  punished  by  their  sins,  not  for  them."1  In  a  sense,  such 
laws  enforce  themselves.  By  his  very  nature  man  is  what  he  is.  And  if 
he  lives  one  way,  he  gets  one  result.  If  he  lives  another  way,  he  gets 
another  result.  It  is  true  that  people  have  been  variously  taught  and 
conditioned  by  teaching  and  training,  but  there  is  something  basic  that 
works  within,  as  we  run  with  or  against  the  light;  and  men  become 
refined  or  coarse,  easy  or  uneasy,  happy  or  unhappy,  self-respecting 
or  self-accusing  by  how  they  live  their  lives.  There  is  only  one  way  to 
find  personal  peace  and  an  inner  respect,  and  it  can't  be  done  by  living 
against  the  counsel  God  has  given.  To  return  to  the  opening  sentence: 
"No  matter  what  you  think  or  what  you  do,  there  are  two  who  will 
know"— and  even  if  there  were  only  one,  it  still  wouldn't  be  a  very 
good  gamble. 


'Elbert  Hubbard,  Philistine,  Vol.  XI,  p.  77. 


The  Genealogical  Society  actively 
cooperates  with  and  encourages  the 
missions  of  Asia  in  their  genealogi- 
cal programs.  A  small  staff  in  the 
examining  department  gives  special 
attention  to  family  group  sheets. 
Two  staff  members  in  the  research 
department  devote  full  time  to  dis- 
covering and  evaluating  source  ma- 
terials that  may  be  used  for  Asian 
genealogical  research.  They  are 
also  responsible  for  disseminating 
this  information  through  research 
papers  and  developing  aids  that 
will  assist  individual  researchers 
and  the  Asian  genealogical  pro- 
grams. 

One  long-range  project  that  is 
now  over  half  completed  is  a 
Japanese  surname  catalog,  which 
will  have  a  total  of  more  than  80,000 
surnames.  A  records  submission 
manual  is  being  written,  adapted  to 
special  problems  of  processing 
Japanese  family  group  sheets.  A 
research  paper,  "Major  Genealogi- 
cal Sources  in  Japan,"  should  also 
be  in  print  by  early  1971.  Negotia- 
tions for  microfilming  are  underway 
in  Korea  and  planned  for  at  least 
two  other  Asian  countries. 

The  World  Conference  on  Rec- 
ords was  a  major  boon  to  genealogy 
in  Asia  as  well  as  other  parts  of  the 
world.  Through  the  conference  the 
Genealogical  Society  gained  many 
friends  who  are  offering  their 
knowledge  of  Asian  records  and  as- 
sistance to  the  Society's  acquisitions 
program.  Representatives  of  the 
national  libraries  of  four  major 
Asian  countries  were  present,  as 
well  as  internationally  recognized 
scholars  of  genealogy,  records 
sources,  and  depositories. 

Thus  the  Saints  in  Asia  are  pre- 
paring themselves  to  meet  the  chal- 
lenges of  the  future,  fulfilling  the 
admonition  of  the  Prophet  Joseph 
Smith  that  "the  greatest  responsi- 
bility in  this  world  that  God  has 
laid  upon  us  is  to  seek  after  our 
dead."  Q 


Era,  March  1970    63 


Advertisement 


People  over  65  get  the  cash  they 
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that  could  cost  them  thousands. 


Life's  more  fun  when  you  feel 
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Sick  or  well  you  must  collect. 


What 

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Today's 

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? 


•  Like  everything  else,  the  cost 
of  being  sick  or  hurt  has  gone  up 
sharply.  The  average  daily  cost  of 
a  hospital  stay  has  tripled  since 
1952 — from  $18.35  to  $54.08  a 
day.  Experts  say  they'll  climb 
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These  $54-a-day  hospital  costs 
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more  health  insurance,  using 
money  they'd  rather  save  for  the 
future. 

But  now  there's  a  remarkably 
different  kind  of  money-back 
health  plan  that  solves  this  prob- 
lem. This  revolutionary  plan  re- 
turns money  to  you  if  you  don't 
get  sick  or  hurt.  If  you  don't  need 
the  benefits,  you  get  paid  a  big 
cash  "nest  egg"  at  maturity. 

Like  ordinary  insurance,  this 


low  cost  plan  pays  you  generous 
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But  unlike  ordinary  insurance, 
this  plan  means  you  no  longer 
have  to  get  sick  or  hurt  to  collect. 
If  you  stay  well,  you  still  get  a  big 
check.  Instead  of  paying  premi- 
ums which  return  no  money  if  you 
have  no  claims,  you  get  a  cash  re- 
fund of  all  your  basic  annual  pre- 
miums at  maturity.  It's  like  hav- 
ing an  extra  savings  account  set 
aside  for  your  future  security  and 
pleasure. 

You  don't  even  have  to  stay 
100%  healthy  to  get  money  back. 
If  you  collect  benefits  that  are 
less  than  what  you  paid  in  annual- 
ized premiums,  you  get  a  cash  re- 
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So  sick  or  well,  you  must  col- 
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answer  to  today's  rising  medical 
costs. 

This  remarkable  Money-Back 
protection  is  offered  by  Bankers 
Life  and  Casualty  Co.  of  Chicago, 
whose  famous  White  Cross  Plan 
policies  now  protect  more  than 
6,000,000  Americans.  And  the 
White  Cross  Plan  also  includes 
new  low-cost  protections  to  help 
folks  who  are  over  65  fill  the 
many  gaps  in  Medicare. 

The  story  of  this  revolutionary 
protection  that  also  pays  you  cash 
if  you  stay  well  —  and  special 
"Over-65"  plans  to  supplement 
Medicare  —  is  told  in  the  Gold 
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Bankers. 

Readers  of  Improvement  Era 
can  get  a  free  copy  of  the  GOLD 
BOOK  by  mailing  the  postage-free 
air-mail  reply  card  next  to  this 
page.  There  is  no  cost  or  obliga- 
tion for  this  service. 


Buffs  and  Rebuffs 


In  the  Beginning 

My  wife  and  I  always  enjoy  our  copy  of 
the  Era.  However,  the  January  issue  and 
the  article  "In  the  Beginning"  were  very 
special  to  us,  and  a  source  of  inspiration. 
We  did  find  a  "spirit  of  joy  and  testi- 
mony" in  that  article. 

Phillip  A.  David 

San  Dimas,  California 

The  January  Era  was  beautiful— even  our 

five-year-old  enjoyed  the  pictures.  We 
were  all  impressed  with  the  scholarly 
articles,  which  help  us  to  have  a  greater 
appreciation  for  the  miracle  of  the  Crea- 
tion. 

Mary  Ellen  Jolley 
Salt  Lake  City 

I  enjoyed  very  much  the  article  "In  the 
Beginning,"  but  I  found  a  noticeable  mis- 
take on  page  36,  wherein  the  diameter  of 
the  earth  is  said  to  be  24,000  miles  wide. 
I  believe  it  is  about  7,926.56  miles. 

Ernest  Terry 
Payson,  Utah 

You're  right. 

What  Can  We  Read? 

In  response  to  letters  in  the  October  and 
January  "Buffs"  on  what  Latter-day 
Saints  can  read:  As  an  English  teacher 
and  an  avid  reader  I  understand  the  dif- 
ficulty many  people  have  in  finding  good 
reading  material.  However,  I  have  found 
that  there  are  many  excellent  books  for 
young  people  and  adults.  Public  and 
school  and  university  libraries  are  stocked 
with  the  classics  as  well  as  modern  litera- 
ture that  can  teach  and  uplift  us.  It 
takes  a  bit  more  looking,  that  is  all.  An- 
other excellent  source  is  the  Relief  Society 
cultural  refinement  lesson  series,  Out  of 
the  Best  Books. 

Mrs.  T.  J.  Burrows 
Livermore,  California 


Research  &  Review 

I  was  so  impressed  with  the  first  of  the 
articles  in  the  new  "Research  &  Review" 
department.  To  me,  the  statistics  from 
Brother  Killian's  thesis  on  the  objectives 
of  the  seminary  system  were  extremely  in- 
teresting and  vital.  As  a  senior  in  high 
school,  I  find  myself  asking  the  same 
questions  about  the  gospel  that  those 
students  involved  in  the  survey  asked, 
and  after  a  brief  survey  I  have  found  that 
my  friends  also  have  a  deep  concern  for 
making  gospel  principles  a  deeper,  more 
instrinsie  part  of  their  lives.  Could  you 
please  print  more  such  articles  dealing 
with  these  topics?  The  youth  of  the 
Church  would  gain  much  from  them. 

Kristy  Coon 
Salt  Lake  City 

I  was  thrilled  to  see  the  new  feature  "Re- 
search &  Review."  This,  I  believe,  will 
give  the  Era  wider  coverage.  Brother 
Payne's  review  of  Brother  Killian's  thesis 
was  a  wise  choice  to  start  off  the  feature. 
We  as  teachers  need  this  kind  of  informa- 
tion. 


Also,  I  liked  the  article  and  pictures  on 
the  Creation,  especially  the  first  part  on 
the  size  and  magnitude  of  God's  creations. 
I  have  tried  to  put  this  in  terms  young 
people  could  understand,  but  have  failed. 
Thus  I  was  especially  pleased  to  see  some 
of  our  scientists  tackle  the  job. 

Keith  W.  Perkins 
Institute  of  Religion 
Tempe,  Arizona 


"Research  &  Review"  is  the  most  hopeful 
new  trend  I  have  seen  in  the  Era  for  a 
long  time.  The  article  on  "The  Religious 
Concerns  of  Our  Youth"  expresses  the 
attitudes  of  the  youth  who  desire  to  be 
faithful,  whatever  their  age.  I  look  for- 
ward eagerly  to  future  articles  in  this 
department. 

Rhoda   Thurston 
Hyde  Park,  Utah 


The 
Spoken  Word 


"The  Spoken  Word"  from 
Temple  Square,  presented 
over  KSL  and  the  Colum- 
bia Broadcasting  System 
December  28,  1969.  ©1969. 


The  past  is  to  learn  from,  not  to  live  in 

By  Richard  L.  Evans 

From  a  thoughtful  mood,  for  a  thoughtful  mo- 
ment, comes  this  reminder:  The  past  is  to  learn 
from,  not  to  live  in.  Our  thoughts  move  in  many 
directions,  with  the  events  of  each  day,  with  the 
mood  of  each  moment.  We  waver  often  between 
discouragement  and  confidence,  between  regret  and 
gratitude,  wishing  we  had  done  better  and  hoping 
we  might  do  better — searching  ourselves,  looking  for 
values,  for  guidelines  in  life — loving  the  earth  we  live 
on,  yet  somehow  sensing  that  we  are  on  a  journey 
that  moves  us  on,  through  time  and  to  eternity.  We 
all  have  days  of  discouragement.  "Sometimes  the 
hardest  thing  in  life  is  simply  to  put  one  foot  in  front 
of  the  other — to  keep  going,"  as  one  observer  said. 
"And,  sometimes,  the  most  worthwhile  things  .  .  .  are 
accomplished  ...  by  people  who  are  struggling  not 
for  greatness,  .  .  .  but  simply  ...  to  keep  going."'  And 
there  is  quiet  heroism  and  goodness  and  earnest  pur- 
pose on  the  part  of  many  wonderful  people,  despite 
all  failures  and  imperfections.  There  is  evil  in  the 
world.  There  is  also  good.  It  is  for  us  to  learn  and 
choose  between  the  two;  to  increase  in  self-disci- 
pline, in  competence,  in  kindness;  to  keep  going — 
putting  one  foot  in  front  of  the  other — one  day,  one 
hour,  one  moment,  one  task  at  a  time.  There  is  no 
point  in  giving  up  in  regret,  for  life  is  a  process  of 
repentance,  of  improvement,  and  will  justify  all  the 
trial  and  error  and  effort,  as  we  keep  moving,  with 
patience  and  purpose.  "Have  courage  for  the  great 
sorrows  of  life,  and  patience  for  the  small  ones," 
wrote  Victor  Hugo;  "and  when  you  have  laboriously 
accomplished  your  daily  task,  go  to  sleep  in  peace. 
God  is  awake."2  The  past  is  to  learn  from,  not  to  live 
in. 


'"Try  One  Inning,"  Capsuled  Comments,  September  1969. 


Era,  March   1970    65 


By  Florence  Bittner 


•  My  summer  garden  is  for  enjoyment,  and  it  is  the 
result  of  spring  effort. 

Spring  usually  catches  me  napping,  and  it  takes  a 
while  for  my  enthusiasm  to  build  up  to  battle  heat. 
By  the  time  I  have  my  on-my-knees-in-the-dirt  armor 
on,  the  weeds  have  been  growing  for  weeks;  and  weeds 
don't  wait.    They  use  every  chance  they  get. 

Once  I  have  decided  it's  gardening  season,  I  enjoy 
getting  out  and  doing  battle.  I  rake  and  spade  and 
fight  staunchly  for  weeks.  My  spring  enthusiasm  for 
dirt  under  my  nails  lasts  until  the  weather  gets  really 
hot;  then  I  retire  from  the  battlefield  to  the  sidelines, 
where  I  cheer  lustily  for  my  flowers. 

But  the  saucy  little  dandelions  don't  need  sideline 
boosters,  and  they  don't  wilt  in  the  heat.  They  jut 
their  chins  and  soak  up  the  sun,  and  they  just  keep 
growing. 

That's  the  reason  they  survive.    I  can't  help  admir- 


ing dandelions'  attitudes.  They  just  keep  working 
away.  They  don't  get  their  feelings  hurt,  they  don't  get 
discouraged  if  they  aren't  fully  appreciated,  and  they 
don't  need  to  be  coddled  and  coaxed. 

Why  don't  begonias  act  like  that?   Or  roses? 

I  know  begonia  people,  and  if  I  were  growing 
people  instead  of  flowers  I'd  concentrate  on  the  dande- 
lions. Who  wants  to  be  bothered  with  the  begonias 
of  life— people  who  have  to  be  coaxed  and  appreciated 
and  encouraged  and  assisted?  They  are  lovely  to  be- 
hold, but  such  fragile  beauty.  One  breath  of  adversity 
and  they  wilt. 

Give  me  dandelions  every  time.  They  just  keep 
slogging  away  and  are  more  interested  in  getting  the 
job  done  than  worrying  about  who  gets  the  credit. 

I'm  not  growing  people  this  year— at  least  not  out 
in  the  flower  beds,  so  I  root  out  the  diligent  little 
weeds  and  toss  them  into  the  trash  pile.    I  do  it  re- 


66    Era,  March  1970 


The  best  things  in  life  are  real. 


The  real  things  in  life  just  can't  be  beaten.  After 
all,  what  could  be  better  than  the  real  cakes  you  bake 
from  scratch?  Nothing. 

But  it  does  take  longer  at  a  time  when  life's  a  lot 
more  hurried  than  it  used  to  be. 

That's  why  Fleischmann's  developed  the  new 
Rapidmix  method.  It  makes  baking  the  real  thing 
quicker  and  easier  than  ever  before. 


Because  you  no  longer  have  to  dissolve  theyeast, 
worry  about  water  temperature  or  heat  the  bowl. 

Now  you  just  blend  Fleischmann's  Yeast  with 
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luctantly,  feeling  somewhat  wanton,  uprooting  all  that 
life,  destroying  all  that  latent  energy. 

But  as  I  turn  back  to  my  flowers,  I  notice  a  spray 
of  white  fuzz  still  on  the  ground,  and  a  smile  comes. 
The  dandelions  may  have  the  last  word  yet. 

Then  there  are  the  petunias  of  my  garden.  What 
would  gardens  be  without  petunias?  So  much  show 
from  such  an  unpromising  little  bit  of  green,  and  they 
just  keep  right  on  producing  all  year  long.  All  they 
need  is  the  essentials  to  work  with  and  they're  off  and 
blooming. 

I  tuck  a  few  petunias  around  the  sides  of  my  peonies. 
Such  magnificence  from  these  lush  fruitful  flowers. 
While  they  last  they  fill  my  garden  with  flamboyant 
color,  but  in  a  few  short  weeks  it  is  all  gone.  That  is 
when  the  sturdy  little  petunias  take  over  and  keep 
producing  bloom  after  bloom  all  summer  and  until 
frost  nips  the  edges  of  the  flowers. 


I  had  a  peony  friend.  One  great  splash  of  effort- 
one  splendid  production,  but  after  the  tumult  and  the 
shouting  died  and  the  spotlights  were  turned  off,  she 
faded  and  was  heard  from  no  more. 

The  chrysanthemums  are  drooping,  so  I  tie  them  to 
stakes;  then  I  loosen  the  soil  around  their  roots.  All 
spring  and  summer  these  regal  beauties  are  absorbing 
sun  and  food,  preparing  themselves  for  that  final  burst 
of  glory  that  meets  frost  head  up.  Petunias  endure  to 
the  end;  chrysanthemums  are  the  end. 

Uncle  Andy  was  a  chrysanthemum  person.  He  never 
really  amounted  to  much  until  the  last  few  years  of 
his  life,  when  something  turned  him  on.  He  accom- 
plished a  great  deal  those  last  years. 

One  day  I  told  him  how  proud  we  were  of  him,  and 
he  said,  "I  keep  thinking  of  how  much  I  could  have 
done  if  I  had  just  started  sooner." 

There's  a  crick  in  my  back  when  I  straighten  up 
from  tying  the  chrysanthemums,  and  as  I  massage  the 
ache,  a  petunia  winks  at  me  from  the  edge  of  the 
peony  plant, 

I  wish  I  could  hire  a  few  petunias  and  dandelions  to 
work  for  me.  Petunia  people  give  more  than  is  ex- 
pected. They  surprise  you.  They're  producers  and 
oh  so  dependable. 

Dandelions  have  perseverance  and  stamina.  If  they 
could  just  be  made  to  obey  the  rules  of  accepted  garden 
conduct,  they'd  be  ideal  flowers.  Unfortunately  they 
persist  in  being  found  where  they've  no  business  being. 
They  will  not  accept  discipline. 

"Warren,"  I  call  to  my  young  son,  who  is  scooting 
down  the  drive  on  his  bicycle.  "Before  you  go,  bring 
me  that  pail  of  fertilizer.  I  need  to  feed  the  roses." 

Reluctantly  he  descends  from  his  bike  and  brings 
the  pail  to  me.  "How  come  you  have  to  feed  the 
roses  again?" 

We  both  laugh,  remembering  our  eleventh  com- 
mandment, which  reminds  mother,  "Thou  shalt  feed 
thy  sons  often  that  their  legs  may  grow  long  upon  the 
land,  for  it  behooveth  a  mother  to  remember  her  boys 
are  always  hungry." 

As  I  dig  around  the  roots  of  my  roses,  I  hope  I  can 
feed  the  minds  of  my  children  in  the  spring  of  their 
lives  so  their  summers  may  be  filled  with  bloom  and 
their  autumns  be  fruitful. 

But  it  is  a  garden  I'm  growing,  so  I  chuck  a  tempera- 
mental rose  under  the  chin  and  tell  her  not  to  worry. 
I  don't  care  if  she  is  petulant  and  petted.  She  makes 
up  for  it  in  the  sheer  beauty  she  creates. 

As  I  gather  up  my  trowel  and  rake  to  go  into  the 
house  to  feed  my  human  sprouts,  I  see  a  baby  dande- 
lion hiding  in  the  grass  and  I  look  the  other  way.  I'm 
not  as  ruthless  as  all  that.  O 


68    Era,   March   1970 


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OSAKA  AND  BEYOND 

Come  span  the  Pacific  with  your 
fellow  BYU  alumni  for  18  unforgettable 
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June  9  to  July  14,  1970- $2145. 


PRESENTING  THE  PACIFIC 

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ASIAN  STUDIES  ABROAD 

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D  Europe  Embraced 

□  Europe  with  BYU 

□  Bible  Lands 

□  Mayan  Magic 

D  'Round  the  Pacific 

□  'Round  the  World 

□  Europe  in  a  Nutshell 

□  BYU  Hits  Broadway 
D  Hawaiian  Adult  Tour 

□  Osaka  and  Beyond 

□  Summer  in  Hawaii 

□  Summer  in  London 
D  Summer  in  Mexico 

□  Mexico  for  Teachers 

Name 


□  Operation  Mediterrific 

D  Adventure  South  America 
D  Europe  on  a  Shoestring 
D  Splendid  Scandinavia 
DOur  Heritage  Regained 
D  Asian  Studies  Abroad 

1971  SEMESTER  ABROAD 
PROGRAMS 

D  Semester  in  Salzburg 
D  Semester  in  Grenoble 

□  Semester  in  Madrid 

□  Semester  in  Jerusalem 


Address. 
City 


State  &  Zip_ 


BYU  TRAVEL  STUDY 

202  Herald  R.  Clark  Bldg. 
Brigham  Young  University 
Provo,  Utah  84601 


Research 
&  Review 


AStudyoftheTextof 
the  Inspired  Revision  of  the 

BIBLE 


By  Dr.  Truman  G.  Madsen 
Contributing  Editor 


•  From  the  earliest  days  of  the  Church, 
Latter-day  Saints  have  depended  heav- 
ily on  the  King  James  Version  of  the 
Bible.  It  provides  common  ground  in 
many  countries  where  missionary  ef- 
forts extend.  It  has  a  tone  and  temper 
that  make  readings  in  contemporary 
versions  seem  foreign,  against  the  grain 
of  familiarity.  This  is  so  even  of  the 
highly  sensitive  work  of  Britain's  J.  B. 
Phillips.  Moreover,  some  biblical  ver- 
sions, though  professing  only  stylistic 
or  idiomatic  change,  tend  at  bottom 
to  undercut  vital  doctrines.  President 
J.  Reuben  Clark,  Jr.,  called  attention 
some  years  ago  to  such  distortions.  (See 
his  Why  the  King  James  Version?) 

In  our  background  is  a  Bible  trans- 
lation undertaken  by  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith  and  based  on  the  King 
James.  It  has  been  called  the  New 
Translation,  the  Inspired  Translation, 
the  Inspired  Version,  and  the  Inspired 
Revision. 

In  sermons,  manuals,  and  special- 
ized research  it  is  often  cited  but 
always  with  some  uneasiness  because 
of  three  haunting  unknowns: 

1.  The  original  manuscript  notes  of 
the  work  were  given  to  the  Reorganized 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day 
Saints  by  Emma  Smith.  In  their  first 
published  edition,  in  1867,  3,400  verses 
were  different  from  the  King  James. 
The  question  was,  how  accurate  was 
this  edition?  Had  changes  been  made 
since  the  Prophet's  death?  And  what 
of  the  "New  Corrected  Edition"  pub- 
lished in  which  352  verses  differ  from 
the  earlier  printing? 

2.  A  copy  of  the  original  was  made 
by  Dr.  John  M.  Bernhisel  at  Nauvoo 
in  1845  and  is  now  in  the  Church 
Historian's  Office  in  Salt  Lake  City  but 
has  never  been  published.  (It  was  used 
by  Elder  Bruce  R.  McConkie  in  his 
Doctrinal  New  Testament  Commen- 
tary.)   Was  this  copy  itself  accurate? 


How  would  it  fare  in  a  verse  by  verse 
comparison  to  the  two  published  edi- 
tions of  the  Reorganized  Church? 

3.  The  Prophet  did  most  of  the  re- 
vision during  the  years  1830-33.  He 
made  changes  in  every  book  (except  the 
Song  of  Solomon,  which,  he  indicated, 
was  not  inspired  of  God).  Did  he  con- 
sider any  one  of  the  books  finished? 
Dr.  Sidney  B.  Sperry  had  pointed  to  evi- 
dence that  the  Prophet  intended  further 
corrections,  perhaps  in  every  book,  but 
what  would  the  Prophet's  own  manu- 
script show? 

Years  of  painstaking  research  by  Dr. 
Robert  J.  Matthews  of  the  Church 
Unified  School  System  enables  us  to 
answer  these  questions.* 

With  the  cooperation  of  the  his- 
torians of  both  churches,  the  Institute 
of  Mormon  Studies  at  Brigham  Young 
University,  and  other  interested  agen- 
cies, Dr.  Matthews  has  compared,  verse 
by  verse,  the  Bernhisel  manuscript,  the 
two  editions  of  the  Reorganized 
Church,  and,  in  several  cases  of  variant 
readings,  the  original  manuscript  of 
the  work  in  the  library  at  Indepen- 
dence. 

His  study  enables  us  to  say: 

1.  The  recent  1944  New  Corrected 
Edition  of  the  Reorganized  Church, 
which  book  many  interested  Latter-day 
Saints  have  acquired,  is  faithful  to  the 
original  manuscript  and  a  most  accu- 
rate printing.  The  editors  have  scrupu- 
lously worked  to  overcome  normal 
scribal  mistakes,  typographical  errors, 
and  difficult  notations  (e.g.,  transposed 
sentences  or  confusing  marginal  nota- 
tions). Matthews  concludes  that  this 
edition  is  worthy  of  trust. 

2.  The  Bernhisel  manuscript  copy- 
supports  the  1944  New  Corrected  Edi- 
tion in  preference  to  the  earlier  (1867) 


*Robert  J.  Matthews,  A  Study  of  the  Text  of  the 
Inspired  Version  of  the  Bible,  doctoral  dissertation, 
Brigham  Young  University. 


edition.  Thus,  by  implication,  it  sup- 
ports the  original  manuscript. 

3.  The  documents  provide  indica- 
tions of  the  mode  of  the  Prophet's 
procedure.  He  often  revised  a  passage, 
later  added  to  or  amended  it,  and  then, 
in  a  third  attempt,  clarified  it  further. 
Some  of  his  corrections  are  inconclusive 
because  the  marginal  note  in  the  text 
is  not  specified  as  to  exact  placement. 
In  some  such  cases  we  infer  that  he 
saw  a  problem  but  had  not  yet  fully 
resolved  it.  This  suggests  what  other 
evidence  tends  to  confirm:  that  had 
he  lived  longer,  he  might  well  have 
undertaken  further  corrections  or  im- 
provements. 

Glimpses  of  the  light  shed  by  the  re- 
vision on  far-reaching  issues  are  noted 
in  these  five  examples: 

1.  The  youth  of  Christ  is  almost  a 
blank  in  biblical  annals.  Some  pas- 
sages hint  he  was  indifferent  to  his 
family.  (The  Douay  version  translates 
"brothers  and  sisters"  as  "cousins.") 
The  Prophet  records  that  he  "grew  up 
with  his  brethren,"  that  he  "served 
under  his  father,"  that  he  "waited 
upon  the  Lord"  for  his  ministry,  but 
that  he  "spake  not  as  other  men."  At 
the  marriage  feast  he  did  not  say  to 
his  mother,  "Woman,  what  have  I  to 
do  with  thee?"  but  "Woman,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  for  thee?  that 
will  I  do."  (Inspired  Revision,  Matt. 
3:24,  25;  John  2:4.) 

2.  The  controversial  first  verse  of 
John,  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,"  has  been  clouded  by  Greek 
metaphysics.  "Word"  is  taken  to  mean 
logos,  and  this  is  framed  according  to 
Plato  and  Philo  as  an  ultimate  idea  or 
long  step  toward  the  immaterial  icon 
of  the  creeds.  But  in  the  Inspired  Revi- 
sion it  is  rendered,  "In  the  beginning 
was  the  gospel  preached  through  the 
Son."  Christ  was  "the  word"  in  the 
sense  that  he  was  the  messenger  of 
salvation.  The  word  "word"  need  not 
carry  Greek  connotations.  (Ibid.,  John 
1:1;  compare  D&C  93.) 

3.  The  Beatitudes  are  presented  after 
three  added  verses  that  make  it  clear 
that  they  are  more  than  independent 
virtues  to  be  willfully  cultivated;  they 
are  a  description  of  the  attitudes  of  soul 
that  flow  from  receiving  the  Christ 
through  baptism  and  "fire  and  the 
Holy  Ghost."  (Ibid.,  Matt.  5:1-14;  com- 
pare 3  Nephi  parallels.)  It  is  not,  for 
example,  a  virtue  to  be  "poor  in  spirit" 
unless  one  comes  unto  him  who  con- 
fers the.  riches  of  spirit — hence  the 
added  phrase  "who  come  unto  me." 

4.  Baffling  passages  about  "pluck- 
ing out  an  eye"  are  clarified.  They  are 
not  pleading  for  physical  mutilation. 
They  concern  the  treatment  of  the  vari- 
ous parts  or  organs  of  the  "body"  of 
the    Church.     If    a    leader   who    is    a 


70    Era,   March  1970 


''standard"  to  others  offends  and  is  un- 
repentant, he  is  to  be  "plucked  out," 
for  it  is  better  to  labor  without  him 
than  to  be  pulled  down  by  him.  (Ibid., 
Mark  9:39-48.) 

5.  The  argument  that  "God  is 
Spirit,"  and  therefore  a  formless  being, 
has  influenced  hundreds  of  millions  in 
the  Christian  world.  The  Inspired  Re- 
vision dismantles  this  belief.  The  con- 
text speaks  of  true  worshipers  and 
replaces  "God  is  a  Spirit"  with  "For 
unto  such  [true  worshipers]  hath  God 
promised  his  Spirit.  And  they  who 
worship  him  must  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  truth."  (Ibid.,  John  4:25,  26; 
compare  D&C  46  and  93.) 

Similar  insights  compound  through 
the  four  gospels,  as  also  in  the  writings 
of  the  ancient  Hebrew  prophets  and  the 
letters  of  Paul.  Chapters  of  Romans  so 
central  to  the  theology  of  Luther  and 
Calvin,  and  today  of  Barth  and  Brun- 
ner,  are  significantly  clarified. 

Dr.  Matthews  points  out  in  some  of 
his  earlier  published  findings  (see  The 
Improvement  Era,  February  through 
May  1965,  and  the  International  Bible 
Collector)  that  the  preeminence  of 
Christ  in  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments is  enhanced  by  the  Inspired  Re- 
vision. 

New  doors  open  up  now.  For 
example,  the  Inspired  Revision  is  with- 
out cross-referencing  or  footnotes  or 
concordance.  A  complete  cross-refer- 
enced edition  utilizing  all  four  of  the 
standard  works  should  soon  be  under- 
taken, though  it  is  a  mammoth  project. 
Someday,  when  Mormon  scholarship 
merits  it,  a  kind  of  "Interpreter's  Bible" 
could  be  developed  that  draws  on  the 
new  reservoir  of  knowledge — linguistic, 
geographic,  and  archaeological — that 
has  built  up  over  the  past  century.  Since 
the  Prophet's  work  was  done  mainly 
from  1830  to  1833,  many  doctrinal  de- 
velopments, heretofore  studied  exclu- 
sively in  terms  of  the  revelations  and 
dictated  history,  need  to  be  related  to 
his  biblical  analysis,  for  it  is  now  clear 
that  the  Prophet  was  learning  as  he 
worked  and  that  the  translation  process 
was  a  revelation  process.  Cherished 
beliefs  of  some  critics — for  example, 
that  the  Prophet's  understanding  of  the 
Godhead  as  distinct  personages  came  in 
the  late  1830s — may  dissolve  under 
such  analysis.  To  correlate  the  revisions 
with  the  day-by-day  history  of  the 
Church  is  another  major  task,  yet 
future. 

In  the  meantime,  all  who  are  drawn 
to  the  scriptures,  the  soul  perceptions 
of  the  Prophet,  and  the  unfolding  of 
the  modern  Church  can  turn  to  the  In- 
spired Revision  with  new  confidence 
and  with  gratitude  to  all  who  have 
aided  Dr.  Robert  Matthews  in  his  pro- 
ductive enterprise.  O 


71 


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DESERET  NEWS 


Ricks  College  Dancers  Complete  Successful  Tour  of  Mexican  Cities 


Some  33  members  of  the  Ricks  College  Valhalla 
International  Dancers  recently  completed  a  three-week 
tour  of  cities  throughout  Mexico.   U.S.  Embassy 
personnel  and  Mexican  municipal  and  civic  leaders  called 


the  troupe  "a  great  success,"  "a  showcase  of 
wholesome  youth."    Several  mission  presidents  said 
the  troupe  "helped  cement  our  relations  with  the 
wonderful  Mexican  people." 


-.■■m ;. -■     ..,.■#,  ■, . — "  . 

P              ■■ 

■LI    ^;^**^\1J»    ^ 

■ji*  -~  *    S "- '       "J?^         mm 

ill                   «Hrn.  ca^^^^/Jfe^lHl 

^B^>         ^  #  "             *' '^^T,  *:^p 

French  Mission  Presents  Program  at  Versailles 

Although  the  news  is  late,  members 
of  the  Church  will  be  pleased  to  know  of 
the  French  Mission's  successful 
Christmas  event  held  for  friends  and 
associates  of  members  of  the  Church. 
The  occasion  consisted  of  a  brief 
buffet  before  guests  entered  the  chapel, 
where  instrumentalists  played 
renaissance  Christmas  music  on  fifteenth 


century  instruments.    Following  this 

performance,  French  Mission  President 

Smith  B.  Griffin  and  the  president 

of  the  Versailles  Branch  spoke.    The  buffet 

continued,  after  which  a  group  of 

singers  from  Paris  sang  a  cappella 

renaissance  Christmas  medleys. 

The  instrumentalists  and  singers  were 

non-Mormon.   The  program,  which  drew 


wide  press  and  television  coverage, 
was  attended  by  about  500  persons, 
including  the  mayor  of  Versailles 
and  his  executive  secretary, 
special    representatives  from  the 
American  Embassy,  mayors  of  several 
surrounding  cities, 

and  the  representative  of  the  governor 
of  the  Region  Yvelines. 


72 


Lucile  C.  Reading  Florence  Reece  Lane 

New  Counselors  in  Primary  Association  Announced 


Sister  Lucile  C.  Reading 
has  been  advanced  from 
second  counselor  to 
first  counselor  in  the 
General   Primary  Presidency, 
and  Sister  Florence  Reece 
Lane  has  been  appointed 
second   counselor. 
Sister  Leone  W.  Doxey, 
former  first  counselor, 
was  released  in  October. 
Sister  Reading,  who  was 
appointed  as  second 
counselor  in  1963,  is 
a  member  of  the  Primary 


Children's  Hospital  board  of 
trustees  and  has  been 
a  member  of  the 
Children's   Friend   editorial 
board  for  ten  years. 
She  will  be  in  charge  of 
the  Primary's  Skylet-Pilot 
programs,  music,  the 
Penny  Parade,  and  the 
Children's  Friend. 
Sister  Lane,  a  member  of 
the  Primary  general  board 
since  1967,  will  direct 
the  Lihoma,  reverence,  and 
in-service  programs. 


Primary  Children's  Hospital  Endowment  Fund  Announced 

Administrators  of  the  Primary  Children's  Hospital 

have  announced  a  $10  million  endowment  program  designed 

to  make  the  hospital  one  of  the  leading  pediatric 

centers  in  the  world.   The  endowment  fund  will  be  used 

to  expand  facilities  and  provide  more  and  better 

service  to  crippled  children.   Thousands  of  children  have 

been  treated  at  the  hospital  since  it  began  in  1911. 

Children  of  all  races  and  creeds  are  welcome 

at  the  hospital. 


Member  of  National 
Boy  Scout  Board 

Elder  Thomas  S.  Monson 
of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 
has  been  appointed  a 
member  of  the  National 
Executive  Board  of 
the  Boy  Scouts  of  America. 
Elder  Monson,  a  member 
of  the  General  Scouting 
Committee  of  the  Church, 
is  the  third  General 
Authority  to  serve  on 
the  national  executive  board. 
President  George  Albert 
Smith  and  Elder  Ezra  Taft 
Benson  served  previously. 


Regional  Representative 
of  Council  of  Twelve 

The  First  Presidency 
has  announced  the 
appointment  of  D.  Arthur 
Haycock  as  a  Regional 
Representative  of  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve.   He  will  be 
assigned  to  the  Rose 
Park  Region  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
Brother  Haycock  has  had 


Air  Defense  Command 
Wife  of  the  Year 

Sister  Gwen  Smith, 
Relief  Society  president  of 
the  Eatontown  (New 
Jersey)  Ward,  has  been 
named  Army  Air  Defense 
Command  Wife  of  the  Year. 
The  wife  of  Major 
William  A.  Smith  (who  is 
stationed  at  Highlands 
Army  Air  Defense  Site,  New 
Jersey),  Sister  Smith 
has  carried  a  prominent  role 
in  redecorating  military 
quarters,  conducting 
sewing  classes,  and 
organizing  youth  athletic  and 
recreation  programs, 
as  well  as  serving  in  the 
presidencies  of  the  Relief 
Society  or  Primary  auxiliaries 
wherever  the  family  has 
been  stationed. 


wide  experience  in  Church 
service,  having  served  as 
president  of  the  Hawaii 
Mission,  secretary  of  the 
Church  Missionary 
Committee,   a   member  of 
the  Priesthood  Missionary 
Committee,   high  councilor, 
bishop,  private  secretary 
to  President  George  Albert 
Smith,  and  assistant 
secretary  to  the  First 
Presidency.    He  is  now 
secretary  to  the  Council  of 
the  Twelve.    He  and  his 
wife  have  four  daughters. 


Era,  March  1970    73 


A  SAVING  IN  TIME... 
A  LIFETIME   GIFT! 

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PARENTS     •     STUDENTS     •     MISSIONARIES 


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The  Church 
Moves  On 


January  1970 

President  and  Sister  David  0.  Mc- 
Kay quietly  celebrated  their  sixty- 
ninth  wedding  anniversary,  surrounded 
by  their  family.  They  were  married  in  the 
Salt  Lake  Temple  January  2,  1901. 

El  As  stake  conferences  resumed  after 
^^  the  Christmas-New  Year's  recess, 
two  new  stakes,  the  497th  and  498th, 
were  organized  in  Utah: 

From  the  North  Jordan  Stake,  Elder 
Mark  E.  Petersen  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve  organized  the  Granger  West 
Stake,  with  Duayne  T.  Johnson  as  presi- 
dent and  Gordon  W.  Evans  and  Benja- 
min L.  Dickison  as  counselors. 

From  the  Bountiful  East  Stake,  Elder 
Harold  B.  Lee  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve  organized  the  Woods  Cross 
Stake,  with  David  H.  Howard  as  presi- 
dent and  Garvin  E.  Carlile  and  L.  Glen 
Tonge  as  counselors. 

New  stake  presidencies:  Richard  W. 
Winder  and  counselors  Normand  Lee 
Gibbons  and  Blaine  D.  Bendixsen,  North 
Jordan  Stake;  Rendell  N.  Mabey  and 
counselors  Duane  B.  Welling  and  Newell 
Linford,  Bountiful  East  Stake. 

Wl%  The  appointments  of  Mrs.  Lucile  C. 
^^  Reading  as  first  counselor  and  Mrs. 
Florence  R.  Lane  as  second  counselor 
in  the  general  presidency  of  the  Primary 
Association  were  announced.  Mrs  Read- 
ing, who  succeeds  Mrs.  Leone  W.  Doxey 
as  first  counselor,  has  served  as  second 
counselor  to  President  LaVern  W.  Parm- 
ley  since  July  1963.  Mrs.  Doxey  was 
released  last  October  23.  Mrs.  Lane  has 
been  a  member  of  the  general  board 
since  September  1967. 

Roanoke  (Virginia)  Stake,  the  499th 
now  functioning,  was  organized  by 
Elder  Mark  E.  Petersen  of  the  Council  of 
the  Twelve  from  portions  of  the  Central 
Atlantic  States  Mission.  Sustained  as 
president  was  Russell  B.  Maddock,  with 
Sanford  R.  Bohon,  Sr.,  and  Dennis  W. 
Richardson  as  his  counselors. 

New  stake  presidency:  President  Jack 


74 


A.  Seitz  and  counselors  Garth  P.  Batty 
and  Bert  L.  Angus,  Ashley  Stake. 

The  appointment  of  D.  Arthur  Hay- 
cock, Bountiful,  Utah,  as  a  Regional 
Representative  of  the  Twelve  was  an- 
nounced. This  brings  the  number  of 
Regional  Representatives  to  75. 


no 


!1  President  David  O.  McKay,  96,  died 


this  morning  at  6:00  at  his  Hotel 
Utah  apartment.  His  physician  said 
President  McKay  died  of  acute  conges- 
tion of  the  heart,  which  began  soon  after 
midnight  and  progressively  worsened. 
He  was  in  a  coma  for  several  hours 
prior  to  death. 

Fallon  (Nevada)  Stake  was  organized 
by  a  division  of  Reno  Stake  by  Elder 
Howard  W.  Hunter  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve.  Gideon  V.  Hendrix  was  sus- 
tained as  president,  with  Golden  D. 
Hyde  and  Ellis  A.  Lewis  as  counselors. 
This  stake  is  the  500th  stake  now  func- 
tioning in  the  Church. 

fjl  The  body  of  President  David  0. 
McKay  was  borne  in  a  bronze 
casket  today  to  the  Church  Administra- 
tion Building,  where  it  is  to  lie  in  state 
this  evening,  for  12  hours  on  Wednes- 
day, and  on  Thursday  morning  until  one 
hour  before  funeral  services  are  to  be- 
gin in  the  Salt  Lake  Tabernacle.  This 
evening  long  lines  of  mourners,  includ- 
ing many  small  children  and  teen-agers, 
filed  slowly  past  the  bier,  which  is 
banked  with  huge  baskets  and  wreaths 
of  flowers  from  all  over  the  world. 

Funeral  services  were  held  at  the 
Salt  Lake  Tabernacle  at  noon  to- 
day for  President  David  0.  McKay, 
ninth  President  of  the  Church,  The 
funeral  services,  presided  over  and 
conducted  by  members  of  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve,  were  attended  by  over- 
flow crowds  of  the  Saints,  as  well  as 
dignitaries  and  representatives  of  local, 
state,  and  national  governments,  other 
churches,  and  many  civic  and  profes- 
sional organizations.  Prior  to  the  ser- 
vices, more  than  41,000  persons  of  all 


ages  and  from  all  walks  of  life  had 
filed  past  the  casket  as  the  body  lay  in 
state  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Church 
Administration  Building.  Light  rain  was 
falling  as  the  cortege  entered  Temple 
Square,  where  the  Royal  Scots  Pipe 
Band  played  "Lord  Lovett's  Lament,"  a 
dirge  from  the  highlands  of  Scotland, 
as  the  casket  was  borne  into  the  flower- 
banked  Tabernacle.  The  services  were 
broadcast  by  12  television  and  50  radio 
stations,  some  on  a  delayed  basis.  Pall- 
bearers were  five  grandsons  and  one 
great-grandson  of  President  McKay. 
Interment  was  in  the  Salt  Lake  City 
Cemetery,  near  the  grave  of  his  two- 
year-old  son  Royle. 

In  a  special  meeting  this  morning 
in  the  Salt  Lake  Temple  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve  ordained  and  set  apart 
President  Joseph  Fielding  Smith  as  the 
tenth  President  of  the  Church.  The 
First  Presidency  was  then  reorganized, 
with  President  Harold  B.  Lee  as  first 
counselor  and  President  N.  Eldon 
Tanner  as  second  counselor.  President 
Lee  also  serves  as  president  of  the 
Twelve,  with  Elder  Spencer  W.  Kim- 
ball as  acting  president. 


BQ  Val  Verda  Stake,  501st  stake  now 
^^  functioning,  was  organized  by 
President  Harold  B.  Lee  of  the  First 
Presidency  from  parts  of  the  South 
Davis  (Utah)  Stake.  Milton  W.  Russon 
was  sustained  as  president,  with  Harry 
Blundell  and  Arlin  T.  Mecham  as 
counselors. 

New  stake  presidencies:  Robert  J. 
Martin  and  counselors  John  D.  Warner 
and  Howard  R.  Gagon,  South  Davis 
Stake;  Lowell  T.  Perry  and  counselors 
Gene  W.  Dalton  and  Clifford  S.  Clive, 
Boston  Stake. 

Jj]  Previously  announced  plans  under 
which  GAC  Corporation  would  have 
acquired  265,000  acres  of  land  in 
central  Florida  through  purchase  of  the 
stock  of  Deseret  Farms  of  Florida,  Inc., 
will  not  be  consummated.  This  an- 
nouncement was  made  today  by  S. 
Hayward  Wills,  New  York  City,  chairman 
and  president  of  GAC,  and  President 
N.  Eldon  Tanner  of  the  First  Presidency. 
They  explained  that  delays  in  closing 
beyond  the  control  of  both  parties  have 
made  the  sale  of  the  property,  located 
in  Osceola,  Orange,  and  Brevard  coun- 
ties, inadvisable  at  this  time. 


Questionings 


By  Paul  Armstrong 


A    multitude    of    faces    I    have 

known 
Have  long  since  lost  their  tenure 

with  the  sun, 
Have  faded,  withered,  drooped, 

and,  one  by  one, 
Surrendered  that  last  trait  they 

called  their  own; 
Silence  replaced  the  flesh   and 

blood  and  bone, 
With  features  turning  ghostly, 

keeping  none 
Of  their  rich,  vital  color.   All  is 

done 


And  all  fine  strengths  are  foiled 
and  overthrown. 

Yet,  is  this  all?    If  it  were  so, 

would  I 
Now  trace  in  praise  the  features 

I  admired? 
If  men  like  me  can  feel  almost 

inspired 
With    memory    of    one    gentle, 

subtle  bit, 
How  can  one  total  being  ever  die 
In    the    Vast    Mind    that    once 

created  it? 


Era,  March   1970    75 


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After  the  Gale 

By  Ethel  Jacobson 

Churned  by  storm, 
White  waves  form 
Where  gray  gulls  scream 
A  warning. 

They  come  and  go, 
Swooping  low 
To  skim  the  cream 
Of  morning. 


"The 
Spoken  Word 


"The  Spoken  Word"  from  Tem- 
ple Square,  presented  over  KSL 
and  the  Columbia  Broadcasting 
System  January  11,  1970.  ©1970. 


n  Do  not  wish  to  join;  but  send  books  listed! 


On  living  with  imperfect  people — 
including  ourselves 

Richard  L.  Evans 

One  of  the  urgent  lessons  of  life  is  to  learn  how  to  live  with 
imperfect  people — not  only  with  the  imperfections  of  others 
but  also  with  imperfections  we  see  in  ourselves.  It  is  often  true 
that  we  do  not  even  please  ourselves,  or  at  least  not  consistently,  com- 
pletely so.  And  if  we  do  not  altogether  please  ourselves,  it  should  be 
easy  for  us  to  understand  why  often  we  are  not  altogether  pleased  with 
others.  Life  is  variable  for  all  of  us.  Sometimes  we  are  sad,  fearful,  dis- 
couraged, sometimes  even  when  we  have  no  apparent  reason  to  be. 
Our  troubles  trouble  us  less  at  some  times  than  they  do  at  others;  not 
necessarily  that  the  troubles  are  less,  but  we  are  able  to  live  with  our 
troubles  at  some  times  better  than  others.  Human  problems  are  complex. 
There  are  battles  within  ourselves,  and  battles  outside  ourselves.  The 
good  strives  with  us,  the  spirit  that  would  lead  to  truth  and  peace  and 
self-respect — the  spirit  that  pleads  to  be  heard  and  heeded — and  finds 
itself  in  competition  with  the  spirit  that  would  tempt  us  to  compromise, 
to  be  critical,  indifferent,  rebellious,  to  relax  our  standards,  and  do 
what  sometime  we  shall  surely  regret.  And  since  everyone  has  his 
struggles,  his  better  days  and  worse  ones,  his  good  impulses  and  less 
worthy  ones,  his  arguments  inside  himself;  since  all  of  us  need  under- 
standing, forgiveness,  encouragement,  all  of  us  would  well  give  com- 
passionate consideration  to  others.  One  quality  of  character  most 
needed  in  this  world  is  compassion  for  other  people.  One  of  the  ur- 
gent lessons  of  life  is  to  learn  how  to  live  with  imperfect  people—in- 
cluding ourselves.  And  if  we  are  not  altogether  pleased  with  us,  it 
should  be  easy  to  understand  why  we  are  not  altogether  pleased  with 
others.  As  a  somewhat  summarizing  sentence,  Henry  Ward  Beecher  said 
that  every  man  should  have  a  good-sized  cemetery  in  which  to  bury 
the  faults  of  his  friends. 


76    Era,  March  1970 


RICKS  COLLEGE 


Opportunities  in 

Spiritual  Growth     •    Academic  Achievement 
Leadership    *    Activities 

New  Friendships    •    Recreation 

IMPORTANT  DATES  FOR  ALUMNI 

RICKS  ALUMNI  RECEPTION  FOR  Alumni,  Students,  Faculty  and  Friends. 
Sat.  April  4,  1970,  4  -  6  P.M.  in  the    Jade  Room  at  the  Hotel  Utah. 

ANNUAL  ALUMNI  BANQUET  AND  MEETING  —  May  7,  1970,  6:00  P.M.  at, 
Manwaring  Center.  Graduates,  Parents,  and  all  Alumni  of  Ricks  College 
are  cordially  invited  to  attend.     (Write  for  Reservations) 

The  RICKS  COLLEGE  ALUMNI  COUNCIL  publishes  quarterly  an  ALUMNI  NEWS- 
LETTER and  sends  it  free  to  all  Alumni.  This  Bulletin  keeps  the  Alumni 
organization  informed  of  Alumni  activities,  School  Functions,  building 
programs,  and   Etc. 

If  you  are  not  receiving  the  ALUMNI  NEWSLETTER,  and  would  like  it,  please 
send  your  address. 


For  Information  Write  Director  of  Admissions 

Ricks  College 

Rexburg,  Idaho  83440 

"YOUR  CHURCH  COLLEGE  IN  IDAHO" 


Could  you  spare 
a  moment  for 

your  boy? 

for  your 

friend's  boy? 


This  could  be  the  most 
important  moment  in 
your  boy's  life  this  year. 


What  boy  hasn't  dreamed  of 
caring  for  his  own  horse, 
wrangling    white-face    cattle, 
fishing  in  clear-flowing 
streams  .  .  .  and  what  parent 
hasn't   wished    this    dream 
could  come  true  .  .  .  without 
flattening  the  family  purse? 
Timber  Creek  Ranch  may  be 
the  answer  to  both  these 
dreams  ...  it  spreads  beneath 
the  Big  Sky  Country  of 
Montana.  New  concept  of 
work  and  play  keeps  cost  low. 
Owners  are  an  LDS  couple, 
Cliff  and  Lil  Spencer,  who 
believe  boys  belong  on  a 
ranch  atleast  once  in  their 
lives.  Your  boy  will  receive 
loving  care  in  his  never-to-be- 
forgotten    adventure.    Write 
today. 

Special  arrangements  for 
Scout  and  Explorer  groups. 

Timber  Creek  Ranch 
Drummond,  Montana  59832 


The  Presiding  Bishop 
Talks  to  Youth  About: 


v jA  1/Yl  A 


By  Bishop  John  H.  Vandenberg 


•  Years  ago  President  Oscar  A. 
Kirkham,  a  member  of  the  First 
Council  of  the  Seventy  and  one  of 
the  Church's  best  known  friends 
to  youth,  told  how  his  father  made 
the  thinning  of  long  rows  of  sugar 
beets  more  interesting  and  in- 
creased the  ability  of  the  thinners 
to  work  longer  and  with  greater 
speed.  He  simply  placed  pegs 
down  the  rows  at  various  dis- 
tances. As  the  young  workers 
reached  these  pegs,  they  would 
stop  for  a  short  rest,  a  drink  of 
lemonade,  or  perhaps  a  piece  of 
hard  rock  candy.  There  was  always 
a  goal,  a  peg  in  sight,  as  the  young 
workers  looked  down  those  long, 
long  rows. 

We  all  need  goals  toward  which 
to  work.  Years  must  pass  before 
we  reach  some  of  our  goals,  such 
as  acquiring  the  training  neces- 
sary to  get  a  good-paying  job  or 
preparing  ourselves  to  found  a 
happy  Latter-day  Saint  home. 
Goals  bring  interest  and  vitality 
into  our  daily  activities  as  well  as 
give  us  the  direction  needed  to 
achieve  the  major  goals  of  life. 
So  much  of  the  motivation  young 
people  need  in  life  depends  on 
having  the  proper  short-  and  long- 
range  goals.  Doing  a  particular 
assignment  well  lends  interest  and 
the  determination  to  get  a  good 
grade  in  a  class.  Doing  well  in 
class  spurs  interest  in  graduating 


78 


from  school  and  being  prepared 
for  a  job  or  some  other  overarch- 
ing goal  in  life. 

The  first  consideration  in  mak- 
ing goals  is  to  devise  a  plan  to 
follow.  Where  do  we  start — with 
the  "now"  part  of  life?  With  daily 
goals?  With  those  to  be  achieved 
at  the  end  of  our  earthly  lifetime? 
A  serviceable  goal  in  any  aspect 
of  life  fixes  one's  attention  on  the 
final  or  end  result  first.  Short- 
range  goals  are  easier  to  plan  and 
perhaps  to  follow;  but  if  they  are 
to  have  any  value,  they  must  clear- 
ly lead  to  the  final  or  end  result  of 
one's  total  life  plan.  Earth  life  is 
a  journey  in  eternity.  Now  is  part 
of  eternity.  There  is  no  permanent 
destination  on  that  journey.  Long- 
range  goals  must,  therefore,  be 
set  up  first.  Where  do  we  want  to 
spend  eternity?  With  what  kind  of 
people  do  we  want  to  associate 
there?  In  what  kinds  of  activities 
would  we  like  to  engage?  Would 
we  like  to  live  in  the  presence  of 
God  the  Father  and  Jesus  the 
Christ,  the  kindliest  and  most  glori- 
fied beings  in  the  universe?  Yes, 
we  say.  Then  we  must  set  daily, 
monthly,  and  yearly  goals  that  will 
lead  to  such  a  joyous  eternal  con- 
dition. The  care  of  our  bodies,  the 
development  of  our  talents,  the 
acquiring  of  skills  to  work,  and 
the  knowledge  necessary  to  enjoy 
life  are  some  of  these  goals. 


The  determination  by  young 
men  to  magnify  their  callings  in 
the  priesthood  and  the  resolution 
by  young  women  to  prepare  for 
happy  wifehood  and  motherhood 
are  goals  that  encompass  all  other 
goals  for  young  people  of  the 
Church.  They  will  give  meaning 
and  lasting  satisfaction  to  every 
worthwhile  and  righteous  endeavor 
in  life. 

Goals  are  most  effective  when 
they  are  made  by  the  individual 
for  himself  or  herself.  We  should 
run  against  ourselves,  not  against 
others.  Each  of  us  needs  to  set 
his  own  goals,  because  we  all  have 
different  strengths  and  weak- 
nesses. Our  goals  must  employ 
our  strengths  to  the  fullest  in  over- 
coming our  weaknesses  and  de- 
veloping our  greatest  potential. 
Some  people  go  to  liberal  arts  col- 
leges when  they  should  be  in  tech- 
nical college.  Some  desire  to  be 
teachers  when  they  should  be  in 
business. 

That  leads  us  to  a  second  con- 
sideration in  setting  goals.  That 
is,  how  do  we  do  it?  As  indicated, 
we  set  our  eternal  goals  first.  Then 
we  set  down  the  intermediate  goals 
to  reach  these  eternal  goals,  such 
as  the  goals  we  must  reach  to 
finish  our  schooling,  prepare  for  a 
mission,  seek  a  certain  kind  of 
marriage  partner,  and  be  worthy 
of  a  temple  marriage.   These  teen- 


age goals  should  then  be  broken 
down  into  yearly  goals,  personal 
goals,  the  ones  we  need  to  set  to 
get  to  the  end  of  a  most  important 
decade  of  our  lives. 

All  young  people  in  the  Church 
should  read  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants, and  especially  Section  132. 
In  this  section  is  found  the  founda- 
tion on  which  all  goals,  if  they  are 
to  fulfill  their  purpose,  must  rest. 
The  Lord  points  out  that  our  main 
goal  should  be  to  live  worthy  lives 
so  we  can  receive  the  new  and 
everlasting  covenant  of  marriage. 
Young  people  who  prepare  them- 
selves for  eternal  marriage  have 
two  promises:  they  can  be  with  a 
certain  person  for  time  and  eter- 
nity as  husband  or  wife,  and  they 
can  continue  an  eternal  family 
kingdom. 

No  other  people  in  all  the  world 
have  such  a  glorious  promise.  The 
Lord  has  said:  "This  promise  is 
yours  also,  because  ye  are  of  Abra- 
ham, and  the  promise  was  made 
unto  Abraham;  and  by  this  law  is 
the  continuation  of  the  works  of 
my  Father "  (D&C  132:31.) 

Only  by  setting  proper  goals  and 
refusing  to  deviate  from  them 
under  any  circumstances  can  we 
return  to  the  presence  of  our  Eter- 
nal Father  and  Savior  and  be 
guaranteed  the  blessings  of  eternal 
lives  and  exaltation,  which  bless- 
ings constitute  joy  forever.  O 


Era,  March  1970    79 


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WHO 

Should  Be 
Educated  for 

WHAT  ? 


By  Dr.  G.  Homer  Durham 

Commissioner  and  Executive  Officer,  Utah  System  of  Higher  Education 


•  The  means  for  recruiting  and 
maximizing  educational  opportuni- 
ties for  talent — as  talent  is  now 
known — should  be  maintained  and 
improved  with  the  best  selective 
means  at  our  disposal.  However, 
our  theology  assumes  that  every- 
one should  be  educated  to  the  opti- 
mum of  their  capacity.  The  word 
"educate"  is  here  meant  broadly, 
to  include  all  the  means  available 
in  the  world's  cultures,  formal  or 
informal. 

Primary  interest  attaches  to  the 
question  of  formal  education  be- 
yond the  American  secondary 
school.  Should  everyone  go  to 
school,  including  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, after  high  school? 

The  following  general  thoughts 
are  offered   without   reference  to 


financial  considerations.  Short- 
run  economic  considerations  could 
lead  to  say  that  only  those  "highly 
qualified"  should  go  on.  But  in 
the  long  rUn  this  could  prove  harm- 
ful (to  economic  growth,  for  exam- 
ple, as  well  as  to  individuals). 

1.  I  am  convinced  that  oppor- 
tunity for  education  beyond  the 
high  school  should  be  available  to 
all  who  desire  it.  Note  the  absence 
of  any  modifying  phrase,  "and  can 
profit  by  it."  The  assumption  is 
that  all  who  desire  it  can  profit 
to  some  extent.  The  justifications 
are  personal  satisfaction,  self- 
realization,  and  social  utility. 

2.  The  means  for  educating 
beyond  the  high  school  should 
be  many  and  various.  Technical 
colleges,  vocational  training  insti- 


tutes, commercial  colleges,  certifi- 
cate programs,  junior  colleges,  and 
university  work  all  have  their 
place. 

3.  "All  the  means"  should  in- 
clude what  has  come  to  be  called 
liberal,  general  education,  "the 
cloud  that  makes  the  rain." 

4.  The  element  that  has  aroused 
the  ambition  of  the  American  par- 
ent to  seek  the  advantages  of 
Princeton  or  MIT  for  his  son, 
rather  than  the  Wichita  Barber 
College,  has  been  the  assumed 
high  quality  and  quantity  of  liberal, 
scientific,  general  education  avail- 
able at  the  former.  Thus,  there 
has  been  a  tendency  for  all  post- 
high  school  institutions,  in  one 
way  or  another,  to  aspire  toward 
being  another  "Harvard."  This 
feeling  was  born  of  American  de- 
mocracy and  its  passion  for  equal- 
ity of  opportunity,  the  chance  for 
every  man  or  woman  to  prove  him- 
self or  herself. 

5.  It  is  contradictory  for  those 
who  keep  the  inner  sanctum  of 
education  beyond  the  high  school, 
who  have  the  inner  custody  of  the 
liberal  arts  and  sciences,  to  deny 
access  to  them  on  conditions  of 
"ability."  There  is  no  limited 
supply  of  the  liberal  arts  and  sci- 
ences— only  of  facilities  and 
teachers,  especially  a  type  of 
teacher  of  which  there  are  all  too 
few.  The  American  people  want 
"college  educations"  for  their 
children  because,  as  shrewd  Yan- 
kees, they  know  that  a  "college 
education"  works.  It  has  worked 
the  magic  of  social,  economic,  and 
political  advantage,  for  individuals 
and  for  societies.  Like  men  in  the 
desert,  the  American  people  know 
the  importance  of  educational 
"water,"  especially  as  dispensed 
through  the  institution  they  have 
come  to  know  as  the  college.  To 
deny  opportunities  to  win  access 
to  this  influence  is  somewhat  like 
denying  penicillin  to  pneumonia 
patients  with   IQ's  below   105,  or 


80 


who  have  high  school  grades  of 
less  than  C. 

It  is  a  political  fact  that,  spurred 
by  technical  advance  and  complex 
economic  pressures,  the  American 
people  have  demanded  opportunity 
for  at  least  some  experience  be- 
yond high  school.  It  may  be  only 
broad  social  experience,  the  label, 
"yes,  I  went  to  college  for  a  couple 
of  quarters,"  that  the  parents  and 
customers  want — rather  than  love 
of  learning.  Yet,  learning  is  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  and  the  yearning  re- 
flects the  love  of  learning. 

6.  The  challenge  in  the  ques- 
tion, "Who  should  be  educated  for 
what?"  lies  in  the  especial  chal- 
lenge to  the  liberal  arts  faculties 
of  public  tax-supported  institutions 
and  to  the  many  others  who  are 
blind  to  the  significant  opportuni- 
ties of  technical,  less  "liberal" 
training. 

A  college  is  a  means  to  an  end. 
The  end  is  enlargement  of  indi- 
vidual capacity  and  social  well 
being.  It  is  easy  for  a  college  to 
reach  that  end  when  it  has  6,000 
applicants  and  selects  the  top  200 
for  its  freshman  class.  Such  in- 
stitutions have  little  challenge  that 
is  new.  They  can  go  on  teaching 
English  and  mathematics  and 
chemistry  and  politics  as  these 
subjects  have  evolved  through  the 
centuries.  Such  institutions  are 
the  "conservatives"  of  education. 
They  exist  to  conserve,  maintain, 
and  elevate  high  standards  of  ex- 
cellence in  performance  and  in 
scholastic  achievement.  The  newer 
challenge,  the  unfinished  job,  is 
to  determine  to  what  extent  the 
aspiring  high  school  graduate  with 
a  C  average  or  less,  but  with  de- 
sire and  family-social  pressure, 
can  receive  similar  benefits.  In- 
asmuch as  half  or  two-thirds  of 
mankind  have  been  assigned  to 
academic  purgatory  by  interpreters 
of  Mr.  Binet  and  Mr.  Terman  and 
their  sojourners,  is  it  not  challeng- 
ing for  some  to  help  create  the  new 


Era,    March   1970    81 


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kinds  of  facilities,  the  attitudes, 
and  the  teachers  who  will  attempt 
to  meet  the  challenge? 

7.  The  IQ,  SI,  English  place- 
ment test  results,  and  all  the  rest 
should  not  be  looked  upon  as 
academic  iron  curtains,  or  lines 
to  be  held  by  the  Greeks  against 
the  onslaught  of  the  "barbarian" 
hordes.  Rather,  they  should  be 
viewed  as  challenging  educational 
frontiers. 

Although  experienced  slightly 
after  1918,  the  weight  of  the  Amer- 
ican demand  for  post-high  school 
education  hit  this  country — and 
the  world — after  1945.  We  have 
been  struggling  with  this  new 
dimension  now  for  25  years. 
There  have  been  heavy  new  invest- 
ments in  psychological  tests, 
measurements,  counseling  facili- 
ties, technical  colleges,  and  trade 
institutes.  The  latter  have  met  the 
weight  of  this  problem  with  much 
sympathy  and  a  large  measure  of 
social  insight. 

Before  the  "IQ"  concept  was 
conceived,  a  Philadelphia  Working 
Men's  Committee,  in  the  year 
1830,  expressed  views  that  today 
constitute   part  of  the   challenge: 

"It  is  true  that  the  state  is  not 
without  its  colleges  and  universi- 
ties, several  of  which  have  been 
fostered  with  liberal  supplies  from 
the  public  purse.  Let  it  be  ob- 
served, however,  that  the  funds  so 
applied  have  been  appropriated  ex- 
clusively for  the  wealthy,  who  are 
thereby  enabled  to  procure  a  lib- 
eral education  for  their  children 
upon  lower  terms  than  it  could 
otherwise  be  afforded  to  them. 
Funds  thus  expended  may  serve 
to  engender  an  aristocracy  of  tal- 
ent and  place  knowledge,  the  chief 
element  of  power,  in  the  hands  of 
the  privileged  few  but  can  never 
serve  the  common  prosperity  of  a 
nation  nor  confer  intellectual  as 
well  as  political  equality  on  a 
people. 

"The  original  element  of  despo- 


82    Era,   March  1970 


tism  is  a  monopoly  of  talent,  which 
consigns  the  multitude  to  com- 
parative ignorance  and  secures  the 
balance  of  knowledge  on  the  side 
of  the  rich  and  the  rulers.  If  then 
the  healthy  existence  of  a  free 
government  be,  as  the  committee 
believe,  rooted  in  the  will  of  the 
American  people,  it  follows  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  of  a  gov- 
ernment based  upon  that  will,  that 
this  monopoly  should  be  broken 
up  and  that  the  means  of  equal 
knowledge  (the  only  security  for 
equal  liberty)  should  be  rendered, 
by  legal  provision,  the  common 
property  of  all  classes."1 

In  the  early  decades  of  Harvard 
and  Yale,  students  were  "placed" 
socially,  and  ranked  according  to 
the  father's  position.  In  the  early 
ordinances  of  Harvard  under  Presi- 
dent Dunster  (1640-1654)  appears 
the  regulation:  "Every  student 
shall  be  called  by  his  sirname  [sic] 
except  he  be  the  son  of  a  noble- 
man, or  a  knight's  eldest  son." 
Thus  pedigree  determined  place, 
later  influenced  by  wealth,  then 
scholarship,  with  "degradation" 
(i.e.,  the  lowering  of  a  student's 
name  on  the  class  list)  as  the  pun- 
ishment next  highest  to  expulsion. - 
The  ranking  of  men  and  women  in 
American  society  by  alumni  ties 
and  psychological  testing  may  be 
more  scientific  than  "degrada- 
tion." But  to  deny  benefits  of  an 
educational  opportunity  beyond 
the  high  school,  for  as  many  as 
aspire  to  it,  could  mark  a  danger- 
ous shift  of  the  power  structure. 
That  shift  could  be  to  ally  techni- 
cal abilities  against  the  Yale  men, 
as  at  Michigan  State,  those  with 
IQ's  below  110-15  against  those 
above.  The  nature  of  such  a  power 
struggle  could  be  far  more  preju- 
dicial and  disastrous  than  a  strug- 


i Reprinted  in  The  People  Shall  Judge 
(Chicago,   1947),  Vol.   I,  p.  588. 

2See  Caroline  E.  Vose,  "  'Placing'  Students 
in  Colonial  Days,"  reprinted  from  the  North 
American  Review  in  Loomis,  Freshman  Read- 
ings  (1927). 


gle  between  economic  classes, 
races,  or  ideological  groups. 

Aristotle's  determinism,  no  less 
than  Calvin's,  namely,  that  some 
men  are  destined  to  be  rulers  and 
some  destined  to  be  slaves,  some 
determined  for  grace,  others  for 
perdition,  has  never  been  popular 
in  the  United  States.  Such  "Cal- 
vinism" in  the  politics  of  education 
— namely,  that  either  by  God  or  by 
nature  only  one-third  of  mankind 
is  destined  and  endowed  with  suf- 
ficient talent  to  profit  by  college 
training — was  overthrown  with 
Jackson  and  later  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  in  the 
race  segregation  cases. 

The  old  colleges  will  continue  to 
flourish.  Those  with  "sufficient 
talent"  will  continue  to  enter  them. 
Democratic  idealism  and  social 
processes  will  continue  to  be 
greatly  benefitted,  with  leadership, 
ideas,  and  artifacts  from  such  in- 
stitutions. 

But  in  new  institutions  and  in 
state-supported  higher  education, 
the  proved  advantages  of  the  an- 
cient college  are  now  being  ex- 
tended to  as  many  as  seek. 

There  is  also  the  scientific  pos- 
sibility that  the  abilities  "guessed 
at"  (Walter  Lippmann  said)  by 
Benet  in  Paris,  Terman  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  many,  many  others 
since,  are  not  the  sole  values  or 
the  abilities  required  in  all  times 
and  places.  All  of  us  are  de- 
pendent in  these  times,  more  than 
we  realize,  on  the  faculties  and 
graduates  of  the  technical  schools 
and  colleges.  The  pilot  can't  fly, 
nor  the  physician  or  lawyer,  with- 
out the  prior  work  of  the  airplane 
mechanic.  He  deserves  our  appre- 
ciation and  respect,  together  with 
the  lawyer  and  physicia'n.  More 
young  men  and  women  will  be  wise 
if  they  seek  for  educational  op- 
portunities in  the  technical  fields. 
Be  assured  that  their  general  edu- 
cation will  not  be  forgotten  nor 
short-changed.  O 


83 


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A  New  Look  at  the  Pearl  of  Great  PHce 


Part  10 


::    "ilfif;;; 


By  Dr.  Hugh  Nibley 


•  Types  and  Shadows:  While  it  is  the 
unique  and  different  in  human  experi- 
ence that  most  engages  the  modern 
fancy,  the  Egyptian,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  intrigued  by  the  repeated  and  char- 
acteristic events  of  life.  The  most 
important  of  these  events  were  ritual- 
ized, just  as  we  ritualize  the  inaugura- 
tion of  a  President  or  the  Rose  Bowl 
game,  repeating  the  same  plot  year 
after  year  with  different  actors.  Hence, 
if  Abraham  and  Sarah  went  through 
the  same  routine  with  King  Abimelech 
as  with  Pharaoh,  it  is  not  because 
either  or  both  stories  are  fabrications, 
as  scholars  have  so  readily  assumed, 
but  because  both  kings  were  observing 
an  accepted  pattern  of  behavior  in 
dealing  with  eminent  strangers.  Like- 
wise, if  Abraham  was  put  on  an  altar- 
bed  like  dozens  of  others,  it  was  because 
such  treatment  of  important  guests 
had  become  standard  procedure  for 
combating  the  drought  prevailing  in 
the  world  at  that  time. 

Repeating  patterns  of  history  sug- 
gest ritual  as  a  means  of  dramatizing 
and  controlling  events,  but  they  exist 
in  their  own  right — they  are  not  in- 


84    Era,   March  1970 


vented  by  men.  In  the  exodus  of  the 
Saints  from  Nauvoo,  thousands  of 
people  suddenly  found  themselves  mov- 
ing west  in  the  dead  of  winter  amid 
scenes  of  some  confusion.  But  with- 
in three  days  the  entire  host  was 
organized  into  12  main  groups — one 
under  each  of  the  apostles — and  com- 
panies of  50  and  100.  Instantly  and 
quite  unintentionally  the  order  of 
Israel  in  the  wilderness  and  the  Sons 
of  Light  in  the  Judean  desert  was  faith- 
fully duplicated.  A  student  of  history 
3,000  years  from  now  might  well  re- 
ject the  whole  account  as  mythical, 
since  it  so  obviously  reduplicated  an 
established   pattern. 

To  one  who  is  aware  of  the  inter- 
play of  pattern  and  accident  in  history, 
the  stories  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  and 
of  Sarah  are  perfect  companion  pieces 
to  the  drama  of  Abraham  on  the  altar. 
Take  first  the  case  of  Isaac,  who  is  just 
another  Abraham:  a  well-known  tradi- 
tion has  it  that  he  was  in  the  exact 
image  of  his  father,1  so  exact,  in  fact, 
that  until  Abraham's  hair  turned  white, 
there  was  absolutely  no  way  of  dis- 
tinguishing between  the  two  men  in 


spite  of  their  difference  of  age.2  "Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  are  bound  to  each 
other  with  extraordinary  intimacy," 
writes  a  recent  commentator;  ".  .  .  the 
traditions  regarding  the  one  are  not 
to  be  distinguished  from  those  con- 
cerning the  other,"  e.g.,  both  men  leave 
home  to  wander,  both  go  to  Egypt,  both 
are  promised  endless  posterity  and  cer- 
tain lands  as  an  inheritance.3  What 
has  been  overlooked  is  the  truly  re- 
markable resemblance  between  Isaac  on 
the  altar  and  Abraham  on  the  altar. 

First,  in  both  stories  there  is  much 
made  of  the  preparatory  gathering  of 
wood  for  a  "holocaust"  that  never  takes 
place.  Abraham  is  commanded,  "Take 
now  thy  son  .  .  .  and  offer  him  .  .  .  for 
a  burnt  offering."  (Gen.  22:2.  Italics 
added.)  "Behold,  I  offer  thee  now  as  a 
holocaust,"  he  cries  in  the  Pseudo- 
Philo.4  Accordingly,  he  "bound  Isaac 
his  son,  and  laid  him  upon  the  altar  on 
the  wood,"5  sometimes  described  as  a 
veritable  tower,  just  like  the  structure 
that  "Nimrod"  had  built  for  Abraham.0 
And  while  the  Midrash  has  Isaac  carry- 
ing the  wood  of  the  sacrifice  "as  one 
carries  a  cross  on  his  shoulder,"7  so 
Abraham  before  him  "took  the  wood 
for  the  burnt  offering  and  carried  it, 
just  as  a  man  carries  his  cross  on  his 
shoulder."8  According  to  one  tradition, 


the  sacrifice  was  actually  completed 
and  Isaac  turned  to  ashes.9  On  the 
other  hand,  when  the  princes  an- 
nounced their  intention  of  putting 
Abraham  in  a  fiery  furnace,  he  is  said 
to  have  submitted  willingly:  "If  there 
is  any  sin  of  mine  so  that  I  be  burned, 
the  will  of  God  be  done."10  Indeed, 
the  Hasidic  version  has  it  that  "Abra- 
ham our  father  offered  up  his  life  for 
the  sanctification  of  the  Name  of  God 
and  threw  himself  into  the  fiery  fur- 
nace. .  .  .*'"  The  famous  play  on  the 
words  "Ur  of  the  Chaldees"  and  "Fire 
[ur]  of  the  Chaldees"  was  probably 
suggested  by  these  traditions — not  the 
other  way  around,  since  Isaac  escapes 
from  the  flames  in  the  same  way  that 
Abraham  does;  i.e.,  the  original  motif 
requires  a  fire,  not  a  city  called  Ur. 

For  all  the  emphasis  on  sacrificial 
fire,  it  is  the  knife  that  is  the  instru- 
ment of  execution  in  the  attempted 
offerings  of  Abraham  and  Isaac:  "And 
Abraham  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and 
took  the  knife  to  slay  his  son."  (Gen. 
22:10.)  It  was  always  the  custom  to 
slaughter  (zabakh)  the  victim  and  then 
burn  the  remains  to  ashes;  the  blood 
must  be  shed  and  the  offering  never 
struggles  in  the  flames.  Many  stories 
tell  how  the  knife  was  miraculously 
turned  aside  as  it  touched  the  neck  of 


the  victim,  whether  Abraham  or  Isaac: 
suddenly  the  throat  is  protected  by  a 
collar  of  copper,  as  it  turns  to  marble, 
or  the  knife  becomes  soft  lead.12  But 
in  the  usual  account  it  is  dashed  from 
the  hand  of  the  officiant  by  an  angel 
who  is  visible  to  the  victim  on  the 
altar  but  not  to  the  priest.13  If  the 
wood  under  Abraham  and  Isaac  was 
never  ignited,  neither  did  the  knife 
ever  cut. 

Being  bound  on  the  altar,  Abraham, 
as  the  Book  of  Abraham  and  the 
legends  report,  prayed  fervently  for  de- 
liverance. Exactly  such  a  prayer  was 
offered  as  Isaac  lay  on  the  altar,  but 
though  in  this  case  it  was  Isaac  who 
was  in  mortal  peril,  it  was  again  Abra- 
ham who  uttered  the  prayer  for  de- 
liverance: "May  He  who  answered 
Abraham  on  Mt.  Moriah,  answer  you, 
and  may  He  listen  to  the  voice  of  your 
cry  this  day."14  And  just  as  the  angels 
appealed  to  God  when  they  saw  Abra- 
ham on  the  altar,  so  later  when  they 
saw  Isaac  in  the  same  situation  they 
cried  out  in  alarm:  "What  will  happen 
to  the  covenant  with  Abraham  to 
'Establish  my  covenant  with  Isaac,'  for 
the  slaughtering  knife  is  set  upon  his 
throat.  The  tears  of  the  angels  fell 
upon  the  knife,  so  that  it  could  not 
cut  Isaac's  throat.   .   .   ."15    It  is  still 


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Abraham  for  whom  the  angels  are 
concerned,  even  though  it  is  the  life  of 
Isaac  that  is  in  intimate  danger.  Every- 
thing seems  to  hark  back  to  the  original 
sacrifice — that  of  Abraham.  Thus,  at 
the  moment  that  Isaac  was  freed  from 
the  altar,  "God  renewed  his  promises 
to  Abraham,"™  the  very  promises  that 
had  been  given  at  the  moment  of 
Abraham's  own  deliverance  (Abr.  1:16, 
19);  while  he  in  turn  prayed  to  God 
"that  when  the  children  of  Isaac  come 
to  a  time  of  distress,  thou  mayest  re- 
member on  their  behalf  the  binding 
of  Isaac  their  father,  and  loose  and 
forgive  their  sins  and  deliver  them 
from  all  distress."17  Thus  Abraham's 
prayer  for  deliverance  is  handed  down 
to  all  his  progeny. 

In  both  sacrifice  stories  an  angel 
comes  to  the  rescue  in  immediate  re- 
sponse to  the  prayer,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  voice  of  God  is  heard  from 
heaven.  This  goes  back  to  Genesis 
22:1  If,  15-18,  where  "the  angel  of  the 
Lord"  conveys  to  Abraham  the  words 
of  God  speaking  in  the  first  person: 
"And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  .  .  .  said, 
By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the 
Lord.  .  .  ."  As  the  Rabbis  explained  it, 
"God  makes  a  sign  to  the  Metatron, 
who  in  turn  calls  out  to  Abra- 
ham. .  ."1S  or  "the  Almighty  hastened 
to  send  his  voice  from  above,  saying: 
Do  not  slay  thy  son."10  That  this 
complication  is  ancient  and  not  in- 
vented by  the  doctors,  whom  it  puzzled, 
is  indicated  in  the  "lion-couch"  situa- 
tion in  which,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
appearance  of  the  heavenly  messenger 
is  accompanied  by  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  of  all,  which  is  heard  descending 
from  above.  It  is  Abraham  who  es- 
tablishes the  standard  situation:  how 
many  times  in  his  career  did  he  find 
himself  in  mortal  danger  only  to  pray 
and  be  delivered  by  an  angel?  An 
angel  came  to  rescue  the  infant  in  the 
cave  when  his  mother  had  given  him 
up  for  dead;  the  same  angel  came  to 
rescue  the  child  Abraham  from  the 
soldiers,  saying,  "Do  not  fear,  for  the 
Mighty  One  will  deliver  thee  from  the 
hand  of  thine  enemies!"20  The  same 
angel  delivered  him  first  from  starva- 
tion in  prison  and  then  from  death  in 
the  flames.  So  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  angel  who  comes  to  rescue 
Isaac  puts  a  stop  to  the  proceedings 
by  calling  out  "Abraham,  Abraham" 
(Gen.  22:1  If),  while  Isaac  remains 
passive  throughout.21 

One  of  the  strangest  turns  of  the 
Abraham  story  was  surely  Abraham's 
refusal  to  be  helped  by  the  angel,  with 
its  striking  Egyptian  parallel.22  Surpris- 
ingly enough,  the  same  motif  occurs 
in  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  For  according 
to  the  Midrash,  God  ordered  Michael, 
"Delay  not,  hasten  to  Abraham  and 


86    Era,  March  1970 


tell  him  not  to  do  the  deed!"  And 
Michael  obeyed:  "Abraham!  Abraham! 
What  art  thou  doing?"  To  this  the 
Patriarch  replied,  "Who  tells  me  to 
stop?"  "A  messenger  sent  from  the 
Lord!"  says  Michael.  But  Abraham  an- 
swers, "The  Almighty  Himself  com- 
manded me  to  offer  my  son  to  Him 
— only  He  can  countermand  the  order; 
I  will  not  hearken  to  any  messenger!" 
So  God  must  personally  intervene  to 
save  Isaac.23  Such  a  very  peculiar  twist 
to  the  story — the  refusal  of  angelic  as- 
sistance in  the  moment  of  supreme 
danger — is  introduced  by  way  of  ex- 
plaining that  it  is  God  and  not  the 
angel  who  delivers;  so  in  the  Book  of 
Abraham:  ".  .  .  and  the  angel  of  his 
presence  stood  by  me,  and  immediately 
unloosed  my  bands;  and  his  voice  was 
unto  me:  Abraham,  Abraham,  behold, 
my  name  is  Jehovah,  and  I  have  heard 
thee,  and  have  come  down  to  deliver 
thee.  .  .  ."  (Abr.  1:15-16.)  Everything 
indicates  that  this  is  the  old  authentic 
version. 

In  both  sacrifices  the  role  of  Satan 
is  the  same,  as  he  does  his  best  at 
every  step  to  frustrate  the  whole  busi- 
ness. As  the  man  in  black  silk  pleaded 
with  Abraham  on  the  altar  to  be 
sensible,  yield  to  the  king,  and  so  save 
his  own  life,  even  so  he  addresses  him 
at  the  second  sacrifice:  "Are  you 
crazy — killing  your  own  son!"  To 
which  Abraham  replied,  "For  that  pur- 
pose he  was  born."  Satan  then 
addressed  Isaac:  "Are  you  going  to 
allow  this?"  And  the  young  man  an- 
answered,  "I  know  what  is  going  on, 
and  I  submit  to  it."24  First  Satan  had 
done  everything  in  his  power  to  block 
their  progress  on  the  road  to  the  moun- 
tain,25 and  then  as  a  venerable  and 
kindly  old  man  he  had  walked  along 
with  them,  piously  and  reasonably 
pointing  out  that  a  just  God  would 
not  demand  the  sacrifice  of  a  son.26 
It  was  even  Satan,  according  to  some, 
who  dashed  the  knife  from  Abraham's 
hand  in-  the  last  moment.27  In  both 
stories  it  is  Satan  who  suggests  the 
sacrifice  in  the  first  place,28  and  then 
does  everything  in  his  power  to  keep 
it  from  being  carried  out.  Why  is  that? 
The  explanation  is  given  both  times: 
Mastema  suggests  the  supreme  sacrifice 
in  order  to  discredit  Abraham  with  the 
angels,  for  he  is  sure  that  the  prophet 
will  back  out  in  the  end.  As  soon  as 
it  becomes  perfectly  clear,  therefore, 
that  Abraham  is  not  backing  out,  Satan 
becomes  alarmed,  and  to  keep  from 
losing  his  bet  he  wants  to  call  the 
whole  thing  off. 

In  a  recent  and  important  study, 
A.  R.  Rosenberg  has  pointed  out  that 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  has  its  background 
in  the  Canaanitish  rite  of  the  substitute 
king,   which   rite   was    "celebrated   in 


both  Persia  and  Babylonia  in  connec- 
tion with  the  acronical  rising  of  Sirius 
...  [as  Saturn]  the  god  who  demanded 
human  sacrifices."29  We  have  al- 
ready noted  that  the  worship  of  Sirius 
played  a  conspicuous  part,  according 
to  the  Book  of  Abraham  1:9,  in  the 
rites  involving  the  sacrifice  of  Abra- 
ham. In  connection  with  the  offering 
of  Isaac,  Rosenberg  lays  great  empha- 
sis on  a  passage  from  the  Book  of 
Enoch:  ".  .  .  the  Righteous  One  shall 
arise  from  sleep  and  walk  in  the  paths 
of  righteousness,"  the  figure  on  the 
altar  being  the  Righteous  One.30  At 
once  we  think  of  "the  weary  one"  or 
"the  sleeping  one"  who  arises  from 
the  lion-couch.  What  confirms  the 
association  is  the  report  that  "as  Isaac 
was  about  to  be  sacrificed,  the  Arelim 
began  to  roar  in  heaven."31  For  the 
Arelim  are  "the  divine  lions,"31  whose 
role  in  Egyptian  sacrifical  rites  we  have 
already  explained.  Thus,  even  the  lion 
motif  is  not  missing  from  our  two  sacri- 
fice stories. 

The  close  resemblance  between  the 
sacrifices  of  Abraham  and  Isaac,  far 
from  impugning  the  authenticity  of 
either  story,  may  well  be  viewed  as 
a  confirmation  of  both.  J.  Finkel  points 
out  that  there  are  many  close  parallels 
to  the  story  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  in 
ancient  literature,  and  that  these  are 
"overwhelmingly  ritualistic,"32  that  is, 
they  belong  to  a  category  of  events 
that  follow  a  set  pattern  and  yet  really 
do  happen.  "On  the  mountain  of  the 
Temple  Abraham  offered  Isaac  his 
son,"  according  to  a  Targum,  "and  on 
this  mountain — of  the  Temple — the 
glory  of  the  Shekhinah  of  the  Lord  was 
revealed  to  him."33  What  happened 
there  was  the  type  and  shadow  of  the 
temple  ordinances  to  come,  which  were 
in  turn  the  type  and  shadow  of  a 
greater  sacrifice.  The  one  sacrifice 
prefigures  the  other,  being,  in  the 
words  of  St.  Ambrose,  "less  perfect, 
but  still  of  the  same  order."34  Isaac  is 
a  type:  "Any  man,"  says  the  Midrash. 
"who  acknowledges  that  there  are  two 
worlds,  is  an  Isaac,"  and  further  ex- 
plains, "Not  Isaac  but  in  Isaac — that 
is,  a  portion  of  the  seed  of  Isaac,  not 
all  of  it.  .  .  ."35  In  exactly  the  same 
sense  Abraham  too  is  a  type:  ".  .  .  and 
in  thee  (that  is,  in  thy  Priesthood) 
and  in  thy  seed  .  .  .  shall  all  the  fami- 
lies of  the  earth  be  blessed."  (Abr. 
2:11.  Italics  added.)  Far  from  being 
disturbed  by  resemblances,  we  should 
find  them  most  reassuring.  Is  it  sur- 
prising that  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  looked 
both  forward  and  back,  as  "Isaac 
thought  of  himself  as  the  type  of  offer- 
ings to  come,  while  Abraham  thought 
of  himself  as  atoning  for  the  guilt  of 
Adam,"  or  that  "as  Isaac  was  being 
bound  on  the  altar,  the  spirit  of  Adam, 


87 


THE  VOICE 
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President 
David  O.  McKay 

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the  first  man,  was  being  bound  with 
him"?36  It  was  natural  for  Christians 
to  view  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  as  a  type 
of  the  Crucifixion,  yet  it  is  the  Jewish 
sources  that  comment  most  impres- 
sively on  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son.  When 
at  the  creation  of  the  world  the  angels 
asked,  "What  is  man  that  Thou 
shouldest  remember  him?"  God  re- 
plied: "You  shall  see  the  father  slay 
his  son,  and  the  son  consenting  to  be 
slain,  to  sanctify  my  name."37  When 
Abraham  performed  "the  various  sacri- 
fices that  should  once  be  brought  in 
the  Temple,  to  atone  for  the  sins  of 
Israel,"  he  was  shown  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  world,  and  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah  and  the  resurrection,  and 
how  in  the  end  his  own  father  would 
be  saved  by  ministrations  on  behalf 
of  the  dead.3S  So,  as  Joseph  Smith  has 
told  us,  Abraham  was  perfectly  aware 
of  the  entire  plan  of  salvation  and  of 
his  place  in  it.39 

The  importance  of  the  sacrifice  of 
Isaac  as  a  type  of  atonement  is  brought 
out  in  many  references  to  the  cosmic 
significance  of  the  ram  which  took 
Isaac's  place.  From  its  horn  was  made 
the  shofar  which  was  to  be  blown  on 
New  Year's  Day  forever  after  to  re- 
mind the  people  "of  the  offering  of 
Isaac  as  an  atonement  for  Israel."40 
According  to  Rabbi  Eliezer,  its  left  horn 
announces  the  redemption  of  Israel  at 
the  New  Year,  while  its  right  horn  will 
be  the  trumpet  that  announces  the 
millennium.41  Every  part  of  the  ram 
figures  in  the  history  of  Israel's  salva- 
tion: Its  ashes  form  the  foundation  of 
the  inner  altar,  its  sinews  make  the  ten 
strings  of  David's  harp,  its  skin  is 
Elijah's  girdle,  one  of  its  horns  is 
blown  on  Sinai  and  the  other  for  the 
final  gathering  of  all  Israel.42  Like  the 
altar  of  Isaac,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  the  same  one  on  which 
Adam,  Cain,  Abel,  and  Noah  sacrificed 
before  and  on  which  David  and  Solo- 
mon were  to  make  offering  thereafter,43 
the  ram  is  one  of  those  symbols  that 
binds  all  times,  places,  and  dispensa- 
tions together  in  a  single  unified  plan. 

But  if  Isaac  is  a  type  of  the  Messiah 
as  "the  Suffering  Servant,"  Abraham 
is  no  less  so.  Even  while  he  labors 
to  minimize  any  spiritual  resemblance 
between  Christ  and  Abraham,  M.  Sog- 
gin  reluctantly  confesses  that  the  his- 
torical and  literary  parallels  between 
the  two  are  most  conspicuous.44  R. 
Graves  has  called  attention  to  the 
various  signs  and  characteristics  that 
show  that  Abraham  himself  was  a 
type  of  the  sacred  victim  as  a  substi- 
tute offering  for  a  king,  just  as  Isaac 
was.45  An  important  point  of  resem- 
blance between  the  two  sacrifices  is 
the  complete  freedom  of  will  with 
which   the   victim  submits.      "I   know 


88 


what  is  going  on,"  says  Isaac  on  the 
altar,  "and  I  submit  to  it!"46  In  time 
the  main  significance  of  the  Akedah, 
the  binding  of  Isaac,  was  on  the  free- 
will offering  of  the  victim  for  the 
atonement  of  Israel;  we  are  even  told 
that  Isaac  at  the  age  of  37  actually 
"asked  to  be  bound  on  the  Day  of 
Atonement  and  Abraham  functioned  as 
the  High  Priest  at  the  altar."47  In  the 
same  way,  a  great  deal  is  made  of 
Abraham's  willingness:  "I  was  with 
thee,"  says  God  in  the  Midrash,  "when 
thou  didst  willingly  offer  for  my 
name's  sake  to  enter  the  fiery  fur- 
nace."43 When  Abraham  refused  to 
escape  though  Prince  Jectan  opened  the 
way  for  him,  the  Prince  told  him, 
"Your  blood  will  be  upon  your  own 
head,"  to  which  the  hero  cheerfully 
agreed.49  According  to  one  tradition, 
Abraham  had  the  choice  of  handing 
over  to  the  king  some  sort  of  token  or 
seal  (a  brick  with  his  name  on  it?)  or 
giving  up  his  life,  and  he  deliberately 
chose  the  latter.50  The  Hasidic  teach- 
ing was  that  "Abraham  our  father 
offered  up  his  life  .  .  .  and  threw  him- 
self into  the  fiery  furnace."51  There 
need  be  no  sense  of  competition  be- 
tween the  merits  of  father  and  son 
here — others  too  have  made  the  su- 
preme sacrifice — but  the  significance  of 
Abraham's  test  on  the  altar,  as  R.  J. 
Loewe  points  out,  "is  that  Abraham 
in  Nimrod's  furnace  is  the  first  of  those 
who  willingly  gave  up  his  life  for  the 
sanctification  of  the  divine  Name."52 
This  assigns  a  very  important  place  in 
the  history  of  the  atonement  to  the 
drama  depicted  in  the  Book  of  Abra- 
ham and  strongly  attests  its  authen- 
ticity. 

The  Resurrection  Motif:  In  the 
Egyptian  versions  of  the  "lion-couch" 
drama,  the  resurrection  motif  was 
paramount.  The  sacrifices  of  Isaac  and 
Abraham,  apart  from  typifying  the 
atonement,  were  also  foreshadowings 
of  the  resurrection.  There  are  per- 
sistent traditions  in  each  case  that  the 
victim  actually  was  put  to  death,  only 
to  be  resurrected  on  the  spot.  We  have 
seen  in  the  Abraham  stories  how,  when 
no  knife  could  cut  his  throat,  he  was 
catapulted  into  the  fire,  which  there- 
upon was  instantly  transformed  into  a 
blooming  bower  of  delicious  flowers 
and  fruits  amid  which  Abraham  sat 
enjoying  himself  in  angelic  company.53 
This  at  once  calls  to  mind  the  image 
found  in  numerous  (and  very  early) 
Oriental  seals  and  murals  of  the  re- 
vived or  resurrected  king  sitting  be- 
neath an  arbor  amid  the  delights  of  the 
feast  at  the  New  Year.54  St.  Jerome  cites 
a  Jewish  belief  that  Abraham's  rescue 
from  the  altar  was  the  equivalent  of  a 
rebirth  or  resurrection.55  It  is  Abraham 
who    leads    out    in    the    resurrection: 


"After  these  things,"  says  the  Testa- 
ment of  Judah  (25:1),  "shall  Abraham 
and  Isaac  and  Jacob  arise  unto  life,  and 
I  (Judah)  and  my  brethren  shall  be 
chiefs  of  the  tribes  of  Israel." 

The  stories  of  the  resurrection  of 
Isaac  are  quite  explicit.  As  Rabbi 
Eliezer  puts  it,  "When  the  blade 
touched  his  neck,  the  soul  of  Isaac  fled 
and  departed  .  .  .  but  at  the  words 
'lay  not  thy  hand  .  .  .'  his  soul  returned 
to  his  body  and  he  stood  upon  his  feet 
and  knew  that  in  this  manner  the 
dead  in  the  future  would  be  quickened. 
And  he  said:  Blessed  art  thou,  O  Lord, 
who  quicken eth  the  dead."56  Another 
tradition  is  that  "the  tears  of  the  angels 
fell  upon  the  knife,  so  that  it  could  not 
cut  Isaac's  throat,  but  for  terror  his 
soul  escaped  from  him" — he  died  on 
the  altar.57  Another  has  it  that  as  the 
knife  touched  his  throat  "his  life's 
spirit  departed — his  body  became  like 
ashes,"  i.e.,  he  actually  became  a  burnt 
offering;58  or,  as  G.  Vermes  puts  it, 
"though  he  did  not  die,  scripture 
credits  Isaac  with  having  died  and  his 
ashes  having  lain  upon  the  altar."59 
But  he  only  dies  in  order  to  prefigure 
the  resurrection,  for  immediately  God 
sent  the  dew  of  life  "and  Isaac  received 
his  spirit  again,  while  the  angels  joined 
in  a  chorus  of  praise:  Praised  be  the 
Eternal,  thou  who  hast  given  life  to 
the  dead!"60  In  another  account  God 
orders  Michael  to  rush  to  the  rescue: 
"Why  standest  thou  here?  Let  him  not 
be  slaughtered!  Without  delay  Michael, 
anguish  in  his  voice,  cried  out:  'Abra- 
ham! Abraham!  Lay  not  thy  hand  upon 
the  lad.  ...  At  once  Abraham  left  off 
from  Isaac,  who  returned  to  life,  re- 
vived by  the  heavenly  voice."61  Isaac 
is  a  symbol  of  revival  and  renewal — 
"Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  the  Lord?" 
(Gen.  18:14.)  At  his  birth,  we  are 
told,  both  Abraham  and  Sarah  re- 
gained their  youth.62  And  "just  as  God 
gave  a  child  to  Abraham  and  Sarah 
when  they  had  lost  all  hope,  so  he  can 
restore  Jerusalem."63  When  R.  Graves 
surmises  that  "Abraham  according  to 
the  custom  would  renew  his  youth  by 
the  sacrifice  of  his  first-born  son,"  he  is 
referring  to  a  custom  which  Abraham 
fervidly  denounced  but  which  was 
nonetheless  observed  in  his  own  family, 
according  to  the  Book  of  Abraham 
(1:30),  which  reports  that  his  own 
father  "had  determined  against  me,  to 
take  away  my  life."  The  famous  Strass- 
burg  Bestiary  begins  with  a  vivid 
scene  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  followed 
by  the  drama  of  the  sacrificial  death 
and  resurrection  of  the  fabulous 
Phoenix-bird,  the  Egyptian  and  early 
Christian  symbol  of  the  resurrection.6* 

Why  the  insistence  on  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Israel?  Because  a  perfect 
sacrifice  must  be  a  complete  sacrifice, 


and  the  rabbinical  tradition,  especially 
when  it  was  directed  against  the  claims 
of  the  Christians,  insisted  that  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  the  perfect  sacri- 
fice, thus  obviating  the  need  for  the 
atoning  death  of  Christ.  "Though  the 
idea  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Isaac  was  generally  rejected  by  rab- 
binic Judaism,"  writes  R.  A.  Rosen- 
berg, still  the  proposition  was  accepted 
"that  Isaac  was  'the  perfect  sacrifice,' 
the  atonement  offering  that  brings  for- 
giveness of  sins  through  the  ages."65 
Accordingly,  the  blood  of  the  Paschal 
lamb  is  considered  to  be  the  blood  of 
Isaac,03  and  according  to  some  Jewish 
sectaries  the  real  purpose  of  the  Pass- 
over is  to  celebrate  the  offering  of  Isaac 
rather  than  the  deliverance  from 
Egypt.66  It  wasn't  only  the  sectaries, 
however:  "In  Rabbinical  writings  all 
sacrifice  is  a  memorial  of  Isaac's  self- 
oblation."67 

The  Uncompleted  Sacrifice:  But  the 
stories  of  Isaac's  "resurrection"  are 
scattered,  conflicting,  and  poorly  at- 
tested, however  persistent,  and  this 
leads  to  serious  difficulty:  "The  main 
problem  was,  of  course,"  writes  Vermes, 
"the  obvious  fact  that  Isaac  did  not 
actually  die  on  the  altar."68  The  whole 
biblical  account,  in  fact,  focuses  on 
the  dramatic  arrest  of  the  action  at  its 
climax — "Lay  not  thine  hand  upon  the 
lad."  (Gen.  22:12.  Italics  added.)  It 
has  often  been  claimed,  in  fact,  that 
the  story  of  Isaac's  sacrifice  really  re- 
cords the  abolition  of  human  sacrifice, 
when  Abraham  decides  it  will  not  be 
necessary.69  But  the  validity  of  the 
sacrifice,  according  to  the  Rabbis,  lay  in 
Isaac's  complete  willingness  to  be  of- 
fered, which  has  been  called  "the  most 
profound  and  anomalous  religious 
concept  ever  known  to  the  human 
mind,"  being  nothing  less  than  "the 
cornerstone  of  the  whole  Jewish  the- 
ology of  the  love  of  God."70  Abraham 
may  have  known  that  Isaac  was  in  no 
real  danger  when  he  said,  w7ith  per 
feet  confidence,  "My  son,  God  will 
provide  himself  a  lamb  for  a  burni 
offering"  (Gen.  22:8),  and  when  with- 
out equivocation  he  told  the  two  young 
men  who  escorted  them  to  the  moun- 
tain: "...  I  and  the  lad  will  go  yonder 
and  worship,  and  come  again  to  you" 
(Gen.  22:5);  Isaac  did  not  know  it — it 
was  he  who  was  being  tested.  But 
Abraham  had  already  been  tested  in 
the  same  way;  if  "Isaac  .  .  .  offeree' 
himself  at  the  Binding,"  so  before  his 
day  the  youthful  "Abraham  .  .  .  threw 
himself  into  the  fiery  furnace.  ...  If 
we  follow  in  their  footsteps  they  will 
stand  and  intercede  for  us  on  the  holy 
and  awesome  day."71  Isaac  was  being 
tested  even  as  other  saints  are  tested, 
since,  as  Rabbi  Eliezer  puts  it,  "the 
testing  of  the  righteous  here  below  .  .  . 


Era,   March   1970    89 


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is  essential  to  the  plan  of  the  uni- 
verse."72 The  Midrash,  in  fact,  "strong- 
ly emphasized  the  parallelism  between 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  and  the  willing 
martyrdom  of  other  heroes  and  hero- 
ines," including  many  who  suffered 
terribly  painful  deaths.73  Isaac,  in 
short,  belongs  to  the  honorable  cate- 
gory of  those  who  were  willing  to  be 
"Partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,"  as 
all  the  saints  and  martyrs  have  been. 
(1  Pet.  4:13,  etc.) 

The  second  problem  raised  by  the 
claim  that  Isaac's  sacrifice  was  the 
ultimate  atonement  is  that  the  shed- 
ding of  blood  did  not  cease  with  it:  "If 
Isaac's  sacrifice  atones,"  asks  Vermes, 
"why  was  further  daily  sacrifice  in  the 
Temple  necessary?"74  Circumcision  no 
less  than  the  Akedah  "remains  a  never- 
ceasing  atonement  for  Israel,  being 
performed  by  Abraham  himself  and 
'on  the  Date  of  Atonement,'  and  upon 
the  spot  on  which  the  altar  was  later 
to  be  erected  in  the  Temple,"75  but  for 
all  that,  no  one  claims  that  all  the  Law 
is  fulfilled  in  it.  "Students  of  Christian 
origins  have  come  increasingly  to 
realize,"  writes  Rosenberg,  a  Jew,  ".  .  . 
that  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  was  to  be 
reenacted  by  the  'new  Isaac,'  who,  like 
the  old,  was  a  'son  of  God.'  "7C>  The 
early  Christian  teaching  was  that,  as 
he  was  about  to  sacrifice  his  son  on 
the  mountain,  Abraham  "saw  Christ's 
day  and  yearned  for  it.  There  he  saw 
the  Redemption  of  Adam  and  rejoiced, 
and  it  was  revealed  to  him,  that  the 
Messiah  would  suffer  in  the  place  of 
Adam."77  But  the  old  Isaac,  called  in 
the  Targum  "the  Lamb  of  Abraham,"78 
neither  suffered  sacrificial  death  nor 
put  an  end  to  the  shedding  of  blood. 
His  act  was  an  earnest  of  things  to 
come,  and  that  puts  it  on  the  same 
level  as  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham. 

This  explains,  we  believe,  the  ab- 
sence of  the  story  of  Abraham  on  the 
altar  from  the  pages  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. G.  Vermes  points  out  that 
whereas  in  the  biblical  version  of  the 
sacrifice  of  Abraham  "the  principal 
actors  were  Abraham  and  God,"  other 
versions,  even  in  very  early  times, 
"somewhat  surprisingly  shift  the 
emphasis  and  focus  their  interest  on 
the  person  of  Isaac."70  Whatever  the 
reason  for  this  shift,  it  was  a  very 
emphatic  one:  ".  .  .  the  Binding  of 
Isaac  was  thought  to  have  played  a 
unique  role  in  the  whole  economy  of 
the  salvation  of  Israel,  and  to  have  a 
permanent  redemptive  effect  on  behalf 
of  its  people."80  It  completely  sup- 
planted the  earlier  episode  of  the  sac- 
rifice of  Abraham  on  the  ancient 
principle  that  "the  later  repetition  of 
an  event  .  .  .  causes  the  earlier  occur- 
rence to  be  forgotten."81  The  principle 
is  nowhere  better  illustrated  than  in 


90    Era,  March  1970 


the  story  of  Abraham  himself:  the 
names  Abram  and  Sarai  are  unknown 
to  most  Christians,  because  of  the 
explicit  command,  "Do  not  call  Sarah 
Sarai"  anymore;  "do  not  call  Abraham 
Abram" — those  were  once  their  names, 
but  no  more!81  When  Israel  finally  re- 
turns to  God  and  goes  to  Abraham  for 
instruction,  we  are  told,  instead  of 
teaching  them  himself,  he  will  refer 
them  to  Isaac,  who  will  in  turn  pass 
them  on  to  Jacob  and  so  on  down  to 
Moses — it  is  from  the  latest  prophet  of 
the  latest  dispensation  that  the  people 
receive  instruction.82  On  this  principle, 
the  only  words  of  the  Father  in  the 
New  Testament  are  those  which  in- 
troduce his  Son  and  turn  all  the  offices 
of  the  dispensation  over  to  him.  (Matt. 
3:17,  17:5,  etc.) 

It  was  necessary  to  overshadow  and 
even  supplant  the  story  of  Abraham's 
sacrifice  by  that  of  Isaac  if  Isaac  were 
to  have  any  stature  at  all  with  pos- 
terity. Scholars  long  declared  both 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  imitating  Abraham 
in  everything,  to  be  mere  shadow  fig- 
ures, mythical  creatures  without  any 
real  personalities  of  their  own.  Jacob, 
to  be  sure,  has  some  interesting  if  not 
altogether  creditable  experiences,  but 
what  is  left  for  Isaac?  The  three  stand 
before  us  as  a  trio:  "Abraham  instituted 
the  morning  prayer,  Isaac  the  noon 
prayer,  and  Jacob  the  evening  prayer," 
i.e.,  they  all  share  in  establishing  a 
single  body  of  rites  and  ordinances.83 
One  does  not  steal  the  glory  of  the 
other.  Great  emphasis  is  laid  by  the 
Rabbis  on  the  necessary  equality  of 
merit  and  glory  between  Abraham  and 
Isaac,84  while  each  emphasizes  some 
special  aspect  of  the  divine  economy: 
Abraham  was  the  Great  One,  Jacob 
the  Little  One,  and  Isaac  who  came  in 
between  was  "the  servant  of  Jehovah 
who  was  delivered  from  the  bonds  of 
his  Master."85  The  special  emphasis  on 
Isaac  is  as  the  sacrificial  victim.  If  his 
sacrifice  was  "an  imperfect  type,"  it 
was  still  more  perfect  than  the  earlier 
sacrifice  of  Abraham  on  a  pagan  altar, 
and  in  every  way  it  qualified  to  super- 
sede it.  Though  it  was  an  equal  test 
for  both  men,  "purged  and  idealized 
by  the  trial  motivation,"86  the  second 
sacrifice  was  the  true  type  of  the 
atonement.  In  the  long  and  detailed 
history  of  Abraham  the  story  of  the 
sacrifice  in  Canaan  could  safely  be 
omitted  in  deference  to  the  nobler 
repetition,  which,  while  it  added  no 
less  to  the  glory  of  Abraham,  preserves 
a  sense  of  proportion  among  the 
Patriarchs. 

Abraham  gets  as  much  credit  out  of 
the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  as  he  does  from  his 
own  adventure  on  the  altar — he  had 
already  risked  his  own  life  countless 
times;  how  much  dearer  to  him  in  his 


old  age  was  the  life  of  his  only  son 
and  heir!  And  since  the  two  sacrifices 
typify  the  same  thing,  nothing  is  lost 
to  Abraham  and  much  is  gained  for 
Isaac  by  omitting  the  earlier  episode 
from  the  Bible.  But  that  episode  left 
an  indelible  mark  in  the  record.  The 
learned  Egyptologist  who  in  1912 
charged  Joseph  Smith  with  reading  the 
sacrifice  of  Isaac  into  Facsimile  No.  1 
and  the  story  of  Abraham  was  appar- 
ently quite  unaware  that  ancient  Jew- 
ish writers  of  whom  Joseph  Smith  knew 
nothing  told  the  same  story  that  he 
did  about  Abraham  on  the  altar.  The 
important  thing  for  the  student  of  the 
Book  of  Abraham  is  that  the  sacrifice 
of  Abraham  was  remembered — and 
vividly  recalled  in  nonbiblical  sources 
— as  a  historical  event.  This  makes 
it  almost  certain  that  it  was  a  real 
event,  for  nothing  is  less  probable 
than  that  the  Jews  would  at  a  very 
early  time  invent  a  story  which,  while 
adding  little  or  nothing  to  the  supreme 
glory  of  Abraham,  would  do  definite 
damage  to  Isaac's  one  claim  to  fame. 
If  the  binding  on  the  altar — the 
Akedah — was  to  be  the  "unique  glory 
of  Isaac,"  it  was  entirely  in  order  to 
quietly  drop  the  earlier  episode  of 
Abraham  that  anticipates  and  over- 
shadows it,  just  as  it  is  right  and 
proper  to  forget  that  the  hero  was 
once  called  Abram. 

Back  to  the  Lion-Couch:  Recent 
studies  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  empha- 
size as  its  most  important  aspect  the 
principle  of  substitution,  which  is  also 
basic  in  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham.  As  J. 
Finkel  expressed  it,  "evidently  the 
primary  aim  of  the  story  (of  Isaac) 
was  to  give  divine  sanction  to  the 
law  of  substitution."87  Isaac  was  not 
only  saved  by  a. substitute,  but  he  him- 
self was  substituting  for  another.  "A 
ram  by  the  name  of  Isaac  went  at  the 
head  of  Abraham's  herd.  Gabriel  took 
him  and  brought  him  to  Abraham,  and 
he  sacrificed  him  instead  of  his  son."88 
As  he  did  so,  Abraham  said,  "Since  I 
brought  my  son  to  you  as  a  sacrificial 
animal  be  in  thine  eye  as  if  it  were  my 
son  lying  on  the  altar."80  Accordingly, 
"whatsoever  Abraham  did  by  the  altar, 
he  exclaimed,  and  said,  'This  is  instead 
of  my  son,  and  may  it  be  considered 
before  the  Lord  in  place  of  my  son.' 
And  God  accepted  the  sacrifice  of  the 
ram,  and  it  was  accounted  as  though 
it  had  been  Isaac."90  Himself  noble, 
Isaac  was  saved  by  the  substitution  of 
"a  noble  victim."91 

But,  more  important,  he  himself  was 
a  substitute.  "In  Jewish  tradition," 
writes  A.  R.  Rosenberg,  "Isaac  is  the 
prototype  of  the  'Suffering  Servant,' 
bound  on  the  altar  as  a  sacrifice."92 
Rosenberg  has  shown  that  the  title  of 
Suffering  Servant  was  used  in  the  An- 


91 


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cient  East  to  designate  "the  substitute 
king" — the  noble  victim.  Accordingly, 
the  "new  Isaac"  mentioned  in  Macca- 
bees 13:12  must  be  "a  'substitute  king' 
who  dies  that  the  people  might  live.""3 
The  starting  point  in  Rosenberg's  in- 
vestigation is  Isaiah  52:13  to  53:12. 
which  "seems  to  constitute  a  portion  of 
a  ritual  drama  centering  about  a  simi- 
lar humiliation,  culminating  in  death, 
of  a  'substitute'  for  the  figure  of  the 
king  of  the  Jews."  If  we  examine  these 
passages,  we  find  that  they  fit  the 
story  of  Abraham's  sacrifice  even  bet- 
ter than  that  of  Isaac. 

Thus  beginning  with  Isaiah  52:13  we 
see  the  Suffering  Servant  raised  up  on 
high,  reminding  us  of  the  scene  from 
the  Midrash  (Midr.  Rab.  43:5):  ".  .  . 
they  cut  cedar  and  made  a  great  altar 
(hernah)  and  placed  him  on  it  on  high 
and  they  bowed  down  in  mockery 
before  him  and  said  to  him,  'Hear  us, 
Lord!'  and  the  like.  They  said  to  him, 
'Thou  art  King  over  us!  Thou  art  ex- 
alted above  us!  Thou  art  a  god  over 
us!'  But  he  said  to  them,  'The  world 
does  not  lack  its  king,  nor  does  it  lack 
its  God!'"  (Midr.  Rab.  43:5.)  Here 
Abraham  both  rejects  the  office  and 
denounces  the  rites.  The  Midrash  also 
indicates  that  the  rites  of  Isaac  were 
matched  by  heathen  practices,  his 
Akedah  resembling  the  binding  of  the 
princes  of  the  heathen,  since  every  na- 
tion possesses  at  its  own  level  "a 
'prince'  as  its  guardian  angel  and 
patron."  (Midr.  Rab.  56:5.) 

The  next  verse  (52:14),  the  picture 
of  the  Suffering  Servant  with  "visage 
.  .  .  marred,"  recalls  Abraham  led  out 
to  sacrifice  after  his  long  suffering  in 
prison  while  the  princes  and  the  wise 
men  mock.  Verse  15,  telling  of  the 
kings  who  shut  their  mouths  in  amaze- 
ment, recalls  the  365  kings  who  were 
astounded  to  behold  Abraham's  de- 
livery from  the  altar.  In  53:1  the  arm 
of  the  Lord  is  revealed,  as  it  is  unbe- 
knownst to  the  others  in  the  delivery 
of  Abraham.  (Cf.  Abr.  1:17.)  Isaiah 
53:2  emphasizes  the  drought  motif, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  never  miss- 
ing from  the  rites  of  the  substitute 
king.  In  verses  3  to  8  the  Suffering 
Servant  is  beaten  that  we  may  be 
healed — a  substitute  for  all  of  us.  In 
verse  8  he  is  "taken  from  prison  and 
from  judgment"  to  be  "cut  off  out  of 
the  land  of  the  living,"  exactly  as 
Abraham  was  according  to  the  tradi- 
tions. Verse  9  reminds  us  of  Abraham 
in  wicked  Canaan,  and  verse  10 — "it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  .  .  ." — 
recalls  the  description  of  Abraham  as 
a  son  being  mercilessly  beaten  by  a 
loving  father  but  never  complaining. 
Finally  the  reward:  Because  his  soul 
was  placed  as  an  offering,  he  shall  see 
his  progeny,  his  days  shall  be  length- 


92    Era,  March  1970 


ened,  and  he  shall  prosper  greatly 
(see  verses  10-12) — all  "because  he 
hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death  .  .  ."  (verse  12).  Such  was  the 
reward  of  Abraham,  with  the  assur- 
ance also  that  by  the  knowledge  gained 
he  would  be  able  to  sanctify  others. 
(See  verse  11.)  In  the  end  the  Suffer- 
ing Servant  becomes  the  great  inter- 
cessor: "he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and 
made  intercession  for  the  transgressors" 
(53:12),  just  as  Abraham  does,  as  the 
great  advocate  for  sinners  living  and 
dead.  Thus  Isaiah  52:13-53:12,  while 
vividly  recalling  the  suffering  of 
Isaac,  is  an  even  better  description  of 
Abraham  on  the  altar. 

The  sacrifice  of  the  substitute  king  is 
found  all  over  the  ancient  world.  Ac- 
cording to  Rosenberg,  the  rite  was 
"celebrated  in  both  Persia  and  Baby- 
lonia in  connection  with  the  acronical 
rising  of  Sirius,"  sometimes  identified 
in  this  connection  with  Saturn,  "the 
god  who  demanded  human  sacrifice."94 
The  Book  of  Abraham  has  already  ap- 
prised us  of  the  importance  of  Sirius 
(Shagre-el)  in  the  sacrificial  rites  of 
the  Plain  of  Olishem,  and  it  even 
labors  the  point  that  human  sacrifice 
was  the  normal  order  of  things  in 
Canaan  in  Abraham's  day.  We  have 
taken  the  position  from  the  first  that 
Abraham  was  put  on  the  altar  as  a 
substitute  for  the  king,  an  idea  first 
suggested  by  the  intense  rivalry  be- 
tween the  two,  as  indicated  both  in  the 
legends  and  in  the  Book  of  Abraham. 
Since  the  series  in  the  Era  began, 
Rosenberg's  study  of  the  sacrifice  of 
Isaac  has  appeared,  with  the  final  con- 
clusion that  in  the  earliest  accounts  of 
that  event  "both  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian traditions  stem  ultimately  from  the 
ancient  Canaanite  cult  of  Jerusalem, 
in  which  periodically  the  King,  or  a 
substitute  for  the  King,  had  to  be  of- 
fered for  a  sacrifice."95  It  was  to  just 
such  a  cult — in  Canaan — that  we  traced 
the  sacrifice  of  Abraham,  and  that  is 
why  we  have  been  at  such  pains  to 
point  out  the  close  and  thorough-going 
resemblances  between  the  two:  they 
are  essentially  the  same  rite  and  have 
the  same  background.  If  the  one  re- 
flects "the  ancient  Canaanite  cult"  in 
which  "a  substitute  for  the  King  had  to 
be  offered,"  so  does  the  other.  Rosen- 
berg says  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac  most 
certainly  goes  back  to  that  cult,  and  the 
Book  of  Abraham  tells  us  flatly  that 
the  sacrifice  of  Abraham  does.  Cer- 
tainly the  Abraham  story  in  its  pagan 
setting  is  much  nearer  to  the  original 
substitute-king  rite  in  all  its  details 
than  is  the  Isaac  story,  which  is  a 
sizable  step  removed  from  it.  The 
substitute  sacrifice  is  a  red  thread  that 
runs  through  the  early  career  of  the 
Prophet:  The  life  of  the  infant  Abra- 


ham  when  his  brother  Haran  substi- 
tuted a  slave  child  to  be  killed  in  his 
place;96  then  Haran  himself  died  for 
Abraham  in  the  flames;96  and  then 
Abraham  was  saved  from  the  lion- 
couch  when  the  priest  was  smitten  in 
his  stead  (Abr.  1:17,  29);  finally  his 
life  was  saved  by  his  wife  Sarah,  who 
was  willing  to  face  death  to  rescue  him 
again  from  the  lion-couch.  This  last 
much-misunderstood  episode  deserves 
closer  attention. 

(To  be  continued) 

FOOTNOTES 

1  B.  Beer,  Leben  Abraham's,  p.  47;  L.  Ginz- 
berg,  Legends  of  the  Jeios,  Vol.  1,  p.  262;  for 
Rashi's  explanation,  G.  Abrahams,  The  Jewish 
Mind,  p.  51,  n.   1. 

2  M.  J.  bin  Gorion,  Die  Sagen  der  Juden,  I, 
325. 

3  H.   Seebass,  Erzvater  Israels,  p.   105. 

•J  G.  Vermes,  Scripture  and  Tradition  in  Juda- 
ism (Leiden:  Brill,  1961),  pp.  199f  for  text. 
5  Ibid.,  p.  209. 
is  Beer,   op.   cit.,  pp.   66,    182. 

7  I.  Levi,  in  Rev.  des  Etudes  Juives,  Vol.  59 
(1912),   p.    169. 

8  Bin  Gorion,  II,   300. 

9  Beer,  p.  67. 

1  o  Pseudo-Philo,  VI,  11.  Cf.  Isaac's  speeches 
in   Beer,   p.    65. 

11  N.  N.  Glatzer,  Faith  and  Knowledge,  p. 
178. 

12  Bin  Gorion,  II,  303. 

13  Beer,  p.  67:  Sometimes  Abraham  lets  the 
knife  fall,  and  sometimes  it  is  not  the  angel 
but  Satan  who  dashes  it  from  his  hand.  Cf.  bin 
Gorion,   II,   p.    287. 

14  Vermes,  p.   195. 

15  Ginzberg,  L.  /.,  Vol.  1,  p.  281. 

16  Pseudo-Philo,  32:2-4;  complete  Latin  text 
in   Vermes,  pp.    199-200. 

17  Ginzberg,   loc.  cit.;  see  next  note. 

18  Targums  cited  at  length  in  Vermes,  pp. 
149-50. 

19  Pseudo-Philo,    loc.    cit. 

20  Maase  Abraham,  in  Jellineck,  Beth  ha- 
Midrasch  I,  28. 

21  Bin  Gorion,   II,   287. 

22  Discussed  in  the  Era,  Vol.  72  ( August 
1969),  p.  76.  In  all  the  apocryphal  accounts  of 
Abraham  on  the  altar  he  refuses  the  assistance 
proffered  by  the  angel,  saying  that  God  alone 
will  deliver  him.  Maase  Abraham,  in  Jellinck, 
Beth  ha-Midrasch  I,  34,  and  Midrash  de 
Abraham  Abinu,  ibid.,  p.  41;  Ka'b  el-Ahbar, 
text  in  Rev.  des  Etudes,  Vol.  70  (1920),  p. 
37. 

23  Beer,  p.  68. 

24 1.  Levi,  in  Rev.  des  Eludes  Juives,  Vol. 
59,   p.    169. 

25  Ginzberg,  L.  J.,  Vol.  1,  pp.  276-77. 

20  Beer,  p.  62,  citing  S.  ha-Yashar,  77-79, 
and   Midrash. 

2  7  Bin  Gorion,  II,  287. 

28  Levi,  op.  cit.,  pp.  166f. 

29  R.  A.  Rosenberg,  in  Journal  of  Biblical 
Literature,  Vol.  84    (1965),  p.  382. 

30  Ibid.,  p.  385,  quoting  the  Book  of  Enoch 
92:3,  which  Rosenberg  calls  "the  most  im- 
portant text  yet  discovered  of  the  Jewish 
apocalyptic  literature." 

31  Ibid.,  p.  382. 

32  J.  Finkel,  in  Proceedings  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Jewish  Research,  Vol.  3  (1930), 
p.  15. 

33  Vermes,  op.  cit.,  p.  195. 

34  J.  Danielou,  in  Biblica,  Vol.  28  (1947), 
pp.  392-93. 

35  M.  Braude,  Midr.  Ps.,   105:1. 

36  Bin  Gorion,  II,  307-8. 

37  Vermes,  p.  201;  Beer,  p.  68. 

38  Ginzberg,  L.  J.,  Vol.  1,  pp.  235-37. 

39  Teachings  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith, 
pp.  59-60,  181;  cf.  Apocalypse  of  Abraham, 
chapters   11  and   12. 

40  I.  Levi  in  R.E.J. ,  Vol.  59,  pp.  169-71;  Beer, 
p.    186. 

ilPirqe  R.  Eliezer,  Ch.  31,  pp.  229f. 

42  Ginzberg,  Vol.  1,  p.  283.  So  also  the 
donkey  was  likewise  the  same  beast  that 
would  later  be  ridden  by  Balaam,  Moses,  and 
the  Messiah;   Beer,   p.   61. 


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43  M.  Levittes,  Maimonides,  VIII,  p.   10. 

44  J.  Soggin,  in  Theologische  Literaturzeitung, 
89    (1964),  pp.   732f. 

45  R.  Graves,  The  White  Goddess  (New 
York:  Vintage,  1958),  p.  355. 

46  D.  S.  Shapiro,  in  Tradition,  Vol.  4  (1962), 
p.    218,    discusses    this. 

47  P.  R.  Eliezer,  Ch.  31,  p.  227. 

48  Midrash  Rab.   Gen.,   39:8;   Ps.    110:3. 

49  Pseudo-Philo,   VI,   10;   bin   Gorion,   II,   78. 

50  Bin   Gorion,   loc.  cit. 

51 N.  N.  Glatzer,  Faith  and  Knowledge,  p. 
178. 

52  R.  J.  Loewe,  in  A.  Altmann,  Biblical 
Motifs,  p.  166,  with  Tanhuma  text  supplied 
in  note  35. 

53  So  in  the  Maase  Abraham,  in  Beth  ha- 
Midrasch,  I,  34.  According  to  the  Sefer 
ha-Yashar,  8,  "Abram  walked  in  the  midst  of 
the  fire  for  three  days  and  three  nights,"  cit. 
Vermes,  p.  73.  Ka'b  el-Ahbar,  Qissat  Ibrahim 
Abinu,  in  Rev.  Et.  Juives,  Vol.  70  (1920), 
p.  42;  cf.  Midrash  de-Abraham  Avinu,  in  Beth 
ha-Midrash,  I,  40-41.  According  to  Tha'labi 
(Qissas,  p.  55),  it  was  the  "Angel  of  the 
Shadow"  who  sat  with  Abraham  in  the  fire,  i.e., 
he  was  sacrificed. 

04  A.  Moortgat,  Tammuz  (Berlin:  de  Gruy- 
ter,  1949),  pp.  63,  114,  139-142. 

55  In  Beer,  p.  113. 

56  P.  R.  Eliezer,  Ch.  31,  38A.i. 

5  7  Ginzberg,  Vol.  1,  p.  281. 
5S  Beer,  p.  67. 

59  G.  Vermes,  Scripture  and  Tradition,  p. 
205. 

60  Beer,  p.  69. 

61  Ginzberg,  Vol.  1,  pp.  281-82;  in  another 
version  Isaac's  spirit  went  to  paradise  for  three 
years  before  returning,  ibid.,  pp.  285-87. 

62  Ibid.,  Vol.  1,  p.  208. 

63  Cavalletti,  in  Studii  e  Materiali,  35:   263. 

64  Cahier  des  Curiosites  Mystiques,  Vol.  1 
(1874),  pp.  152-55. 

65  R.  A.  Rosenberg,  in  J.B.L.,  Vol.  84,  p.  388. 

66  Ibid.,  p.   386,  citing  Jubilees    18:18. 

67  Vermes,  op.  cit.,  p.  209. 

68  Ibid.,  p.  205. 

69  So  Z.  Mayani,  Les  Hyksos  et  le  Monde  de 
la  Bible  (Paris:  Payot,  1956),  p.  21. 

70  Vermes,  pp.  193,  221. 

71 N.  N.  Glatzer,  Faith  and  Knowledge,  p. 
178. 

72  Beer,  p.  57. 

73  Vermes,  p.  204. 

74  Ibid.,  p.  208. 

75  Ginzberg,  Vol.  1,  p.  240. 
7  6  Rosenberg,  p.  388. 

7  7  Cave  of  Treasures  29:13-14. 

78  Rosenberg,  loc.  cit.,  citing  Targ.  Levi 
22:27. 

79  Vermes,  p.  193. 
so  Ibid.,  p.  208. 

81  Holtzmann,  Tosephtakraktat  Berakot,  in 
Ztschr.  f.  Alttest.  Wiss.,  Vol.  23  (1912),  pp. 
12f. 

82  Beer,  p.  206. 

83  M.  Braude,  Midr.  Ps.  55:2. 

84  See  above,  notes  37,  46-48,  70,  71,  for 
examples. 

85  Vermes,  p.  203,  cit.  Targ.  Job   3:18. 

se  J.  Finkel,  in  Proc.  Am.  Acad.  Jew,  Re- 
search, Vol.  3    (1930),  p.   14. 

87  Ibid.,  p.  12. 

88  Bin  Gorion,  II,  295. 

89  Beer,  p.  70. 

90  Ginzberg,  Vol.  1,  p.  283. 

91  Finkel,  p.  12. 

92  Rosenberg,  in  J.B.L.,  Vol.  84,  p.  385. 

93  Ibid.,  pp.  383,  385. 

94  Ibid.,  p.  382. 

95  Ibid.,  p.  388. 

96  Beer,  p.  15;  M.  Sprengling  (ed.),  Barhe- 
braeus'  Scholia  on  the  Old  Testament  (Univ. 
of  Chicago,  1931),  p.  49,  comments  on  Gen. 
11:28.  That  Haran  died  as  a  substitute  for 
Abraham  is  clearly  indicated  in  Midr.  in 
Beth  ha-Midrasch  I,  40;  S.  ha-Yashar  (text  in 
Vermes,  p.  72);  Ginzberg,  L.J.,  Vol.  1,  p.  216; 
bin  Gorion,  II,  96f;  Beer,  pp.  15-17;  cf.  Bar 
Hebrews,  Scholion  to  Gen.  11:2;  Midr.  Rab., 
Noah  38:13. 


The  true  purpose  of  life  is  the 
perfection  of  humanity  through 
individual  effort,  under  the 
guidance  of  God's  inspiration. 
— President  David  O.  McKay 


94 


End  of  an  Era 


Life  Among 
the  Mormons 


°®8 


After  a  few  days  of  school 
with  a  new  teacher, 
my  seven-year-old  daughter 
reported,   "I  don't  think 
my  new  teacher  is  a  Mormon.  " 
"Why?"    we   asked. 
"Because  she  is  never 
in  a  hurry, "  was  the  reply. 
-Patricia  Butitof er, 
Rigby,   Idaho 

Before  I  joined  the  Church, 
a  friend  took  me  to  Relief  Society 
one  morning.    When  she 
introduced  me  to  the  bishop's 
wife,  she  said,  to  no  one 
in  particular,  "She's  an 
investigator."    Not  knowing 
Latter-day  Saint  terminology, 
I  took  this  as  a  subtle 
warning  to  me  to  be  careful, 
that  the  bishop's  wife 
would  investigate  me  before 
I  could  join  the  Church. 
For  quite  a  while  after  that  I 
was  most  cautious  and  on 
my  best  behavior  when  in 
the  company  of  the  bishop's  wife, 
so  her  report  on  me  would 
be  favorable ! 

— Kathleen  N.  Slater, 

Tooele,  Utah 
"End  of  an  Era"  will  pay  $3  for  humorous  anec- 
dotes and  experiences  that  relate  to  the  Latter-day 
Saint  way  of  life.     Maximum    length    150  words. 


Friend:  Which  of  your  works 

of  fiction  do  you  consider 

the  best? 

Author:  My  last  income  tax 

return. 

An  ounce  of  performance 
is  worth  more  than  a  pound 
of  preachment. 
-Elbert  Hubbard 

It's  sad  but  true,  as  marriage 
counselors  know,  that 
mighty  pitfalls  from  little 
digs  do  grow. 

- — James  J.  Kelly, 
Marquette,  Michigan 

Every  seeker  after  truth 
should  searchingly  and 
honestly  ask  himself  or  herself 
this  question:  Am  I  attempting 
to  climb  heavenward 
by  some  other  path  than  the 
one  marked  out  by  the  Redeemer 
and  Savior  of  men? 
— Elder  Delbert  L.  Stapley 


Life  has  its  disappointments 
but  there  is  no  reason  to  be 
one  of  them. 

Taxpayer:  Do  you  know  any 
reliable  rule  for  estimating  the 
cost  of  living?  Accountant: 
Yes.  Take  your  income, 
whatever  that  may  be,  and 
add  10  percent. 

"How  old  is  she?" 
"Oh,  I  couldn't  say — but  she 
knew  the  Big  Dipper  when 
it  was  only  a  drinking  cup!" 

You  must  learn  day  by  day, 
year  by  year,  to  broaden 
your  horizon.  The  more  things 
you  love,  the  more  you  are 
interested  in,  the  more 
you  enjoy,  the  more  you  are 
indignant  about — the 
more  you  have  left  when 
anything  happens. 
— Ethel  Barrymore 


Mountain  Versus  Molehill 
By  Evalyn  M.  Sandberg 


The  gospel's  high 
eternal  peaks 
are  really 
quite  appealing. 
But  day-by-day  hills 
trip  me  up 

and  keep  me  meek — 
and  kneeling. 


Era,   March   1970     95 


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